


Political Games

by AoiYukihana



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angry Kylo Ren, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Bondage, Dominant Armitage Hux, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Force Choking, Forced Marriage, Injured Hux, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Psychology, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Romance, Rough Sex, Smut, Submissive Character, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-26 22:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14411853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AoiYukihana/pseuds/AoiYukihana
Summary: With the change of power, more people seem to notice the fact that Hux's mother does not necessarily suit his position. With advise and force of others, he decided to marry a young First Order veteran, who has quite a lot of secrets of her own, however, has connections to the previous Supreme Leader, and thus a perfect match for the General of the First Order.Watch out for tags.





	1. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 5/4/2018

Her body felt as if it was bound down with a thousand tons, held down, with every single cell in her body squished against the other, whilst the pressure from above crushed every bone and destroyed every muscle, she’d try to scream only to realize her voice was gone, she couldn’t move, her every breath crushing against the ribcage only to resonate the pain that started from…  
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.  
The soft hand laid upon the alarm, pushing the button down and letting the annoying noise to finally silence as a pair off crystal blue eyes looked upon the fancy ceiling atop of her bed, decorated with mosaics that illustrated the history of her ancestors. A few deep breaths, slowly, letting her body adjust to feeling normal, or, as much normal as she could. She reached out and tugged the ivory sheets away from her thin body, letting them stay aside as she hanged her legs over the couch and grabbed her cane.  
Deep breaths, deep, slow breaths. Her toes touched the marble floor, the weight of the body slowly settling upon her feet as she got up, almost losing the balance for a moment before letting some of her weight slide upon her cane, relieving her leg muscles. The young woman made her way across the floor to the walk-in closet, as she noticed that a particular outfit was laid to aside. She’d raise a brow, noticing a note next to its corresponding place: “Make yourself look nice.” - she’d frown, remembering what day it was, then, take the clothes and proceed to a chair, finally letting her weight rest on something else. She put on the dress, which seemed to emphasize every single curve of her body, despite having enough coverage over her skin, she still found it lewd. She couldn’t wear the uniform anymore, which did such a precious job at concealing both the imperfections and the curves of her body. The ex-officer took a few deep breaths, then, took her time to change, carefully balancing as she had to adjust the dress around. The pair of pale blue eyes shifted to the full height mirror, which displayed a woman in her later twenties with pale blond hair and rather extremely pale blue eyes, whose smooth and soft skin blended in together with the pastels of the hair, yet contradicted the strict color of the black dress. Her facial features were soft, with eyes that may have been a bit too big and lips which could have been a bit bigger, but nothing that a tad of makeup wouldn’t fix, if she cared enough. There was a characteristic buzzing noise of the door as she heard heels clicking on the floor.  
\- “Mother” - monotone response, as she clearly seemed irritated by the early visit.  
\- Oh, you've already changed! Wonderful, your date is scheduled in two... Hours? I've got few helpers to make sure you look appropriate. Leave that cane! - the woman was smiling and seemingly rushing through this, still rather excited to see the outcome of her daughter's date with a powerful individual from the First Order.  
\- I believed we had talked about the cane. If you don’t like it, I’ll take the wheelchair. - that shut the older woman pretty fast, who made a rather stern expression.  
\- You. You have no future without a husband, so if that means you have to spread your legs wide open for this one, I’d recommend you do it. - the older woman was stern, as that clearly pissed her off. She was the head of the household and did not appreciate the attitude in her child's voice.Following that, she hurried to disappear around the house of this noble and well-respected family. Moments later a couple of household droids have entered the room, ready to prepare the young lady for an important encounter. Her hair was brushed and fixed to drape down her shoulders. A thin layer of makeup over her face: some blush and a lip balm, with an eyeliner and mascara on the eyes were the only few things necessary to emphasize her features. The young lady took her time with getting fully ready and then heading down the hall, through a few of the living rooms as well as the small bar. Her family was wealthy and this was the main house, thus, it was decorated and build with the most expensive materials which looked fancy when put all together. The blonde decided to take a chair while waiting for the man, whose identity her mother did not bother to share. All she knew, she had another appointment with a man, rather powerful, who could supply her family with money and position to continue on their lives. Needless to say, by far, every single date or partner turned away at the site of her disability and family issues.  
She heard the bell and perked up a little, getting up from the chair she was sitting in, now by the front entrance, as instructed by the droids earlier. She often felt like a bird inside the golden cage, which wasn’t much of a lie considering exactly how the house looked. The door was opened by the butler, inviting their guest. The redhead, tall man looked up inside, noticing the lady with her cane. “What. Is. This.” - quickly passed through his head as he stepped through.  
The blond girl took one last long breath, trying to mentally prepare herself for this meeting: a formal meet with the intent of marriage. For a moment she felt dumbfounded, staring at a well-known man in her doorway. “What. Is. This.” - quickly passed through her head as the man dressed in all black, stepped through the doorway, offering her a gloved hand to shake. She rather quickly accepted, only for him to bend down a bit, whilst raising her hand and land a soft kiss. Her cheeks tinted pink as he’d let go and rise.  
\- Lady Barpent. It is quite the pleasure to formally meet you. - His grey-blue eyes studied her carefully, doing his best to not look too much into the outfit. Of course, she knew him. How could someone not know the general? A general whose subordinates never dare to talk man. The man, who achieved the highest position in the military before his thirties. How many times had she seen him in person? This is the first. He was admired, honored, and most of all every single of his trained stormtroopers was loyal to the General. He was a superior whose voice and face was well known, yet in person, he sounded calm, collected, and cold, with incredible smoothness. Her hair was falling down her shoulders in waves, as her face looked rather fresh and, he had no doubt, would look even more adorable in certain positions.  
\- Sir Armitage Hux.. It.. is a pleasure, indeed. - Her soft, feminine voice stuttered a bit, as she was shocked at the identity of the individual in front of her. It’s not like you get a casual visit form the new leader of the government. They stared at each other: he was still wearing the dark black uniform, which concealed most of his skin, the boots, everything - that’s exactly how he was presented to the ones lower rank on screens, advertisement, or holograms. Yet, she made a mental note to herself that despite his rank and status, she felt no need to compete, rather a quiet and silence acceptance of dominance, which she will discover, much, much later. His eyes eventually wandered down to her feet, at which he raised a brow, trying to scrape out the memories of this woman, as it was unusual for anyone to appear bare feet.  
\- I apologize for my appearance, General, - she was going to say something else, yet he cut her off in a stern voice.  
\- Let’s drop the formalities. Armitage, please. - she let out a soft smile, not quite a professional one, followed by her extending her hand towards the depths of the house.  
\- There are some drinks if you’d like one.. - pause, she thought about it for a moment, which did not go unnoticed, - Armitage.  
\- Why thank you, Leillal, I appreciate the offer. We can talk more there. - He followed behind the woman, doing his best not to let the eyes wander to her nice and plump ass or her legs too much. There were no scars, not visible ones at least, which was all thanks to the modern level of medicine; however, it made him wonder why would she need a cane.  
\- So, - he began talking after taking a sip of whatever she had poured him, seemingly a kind of juice with a tingling sensation and a splash of some alcohol to it, - I will get straight to the point. I am looking for a marriage partner, not a business deal. - She responded by nodding, then continued to talk with rather soft-spoken voice.  
\- I realize such, but I also do believe that you are under the influence and a lot of judgment. - she was not a stupid woman, rather, quite the opposite. She knew the current politics, it was her game after all.  
\- Yes, that is correct. With the Supreme Leader gone, it is up to Kylo Ren and I to guide the forces. And due to my.. - there was a soft pause - heritage, people are starting to question the adequateness of my rank.  
It was no secret about the rumors of his mother. People said she was a whore, a kitchen cook, just a random person on the street. At the end of the day, nobody really knew the truth.  
\- I would expect your will to marry into my family comes from the noble and high-rank status on the political stage. - she spoke coldly much like him, sitting on a chair, her thin fingers still holding tight onto the metal cane - However, despite my family’s eager desire for my marriage, I have no intentions of becoming a housewife. - a word from a long past, but she knew it would carry along the meaning, General raised a brow. This woman can barely walk, only realistically had her family status and education, yet had high demands, and was definitely not a bad choice.  
\- Well, what do you propose? - he wanted to hear her say the proposal and then shut it down.  
\- In addition, I believe if you were just looking to sign a contract, it would have been already done so and we would be talking about date and place at this moment. From there, I should say that you are not looking just for a paper, rather for a partner who you are willing to trust or the one who wouldn’t dare to betray you. A woman whose family fortune is running out and a woman who can barely make her way around a room on her own two feet… Well, isn’t that perfect? - her eyes glanced up at him, noticing a rather stern expression, he wasn’t happy with her words and the smirking expression on her face. He took another sip of the drink, then, left it on the counter getting up and walking to her, which made her feel so small, her body shivered angrily and her legs started aching: she can’t run.  
\- Let me make this clear, I am not looking for someone to love.  
\- Me, neither. - her instant and rather strong response startled him.  
\- So, marriage without love. Should I bring the papers? - his expression relaxed, even if he didn't smile, he was certainly pleased, his eyes exploring the female that was clenching her cane rather tightly, her knuckles turning white.  
\- Deal. - she said through her teeth with quiet the spite, having little to no clue why would she agree to this. Possibly, the idea being back on the front lines was exciting to her.


	2. The Ceremony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ I really appreciate all the support of my first ever work here! I am a type of writer who generally can't write without inspiration, but I have been good so far, and so I do intend to upload a chapter at least once a week. Also, I suck at naming things (like chapters). Also, I recommend listening to Jaymes Young's "Moondust", as it was the inspiration for this chapter.  
> \- Aoi Y.  
> Edited 5/4/2018

Next few weeks passed rather in a rush, with events happening so fast, the only thing the soon-to-be-married-couple could do was place rather long glances toward each other. Coming from Hux, the stares seemed cold, professional, on a rare occasion like a kid looking at a new toy, but those seconds past mostly without her notice. On the other hand, her stares tended to end with her looking down at her hands or to aside instead, rarely admiring him from aside, just like the many times in the academy, not without taking a note of his uptightness. The papers and the meetings with litigation attorneys seemed to drag on forever. By the end of all those signatures and, sometimes, heated discussions with her mother, her mind and hands were tired. General remained professional and courteous: he handled her mother well and money that the family needed was agreed upon so fast, her mother was rather shocked, yet pleased. She was most certain that her daughter must have done _something_ to please the general. The real difficulties and disagreements came upon where Leillal would stay, how to celebrate the wedding, what are long-term conditions. The blond just let it all slide: whatever her mother wanted and whatever her fiance would agree upon seemed absolutely fine. Hux did take a note of that, just as a reminder.

A few days out before the “big day”, he left the planet to depart to the Resergent-class Star Destroyer, that was recently built for the First Order. She’d follow next, along with her family, a few days later, after the dress was ready. Blond could not have been more excited to aboard the starship and be out in the space, on the battlefield again. It made her excited, which did not go unnoticed by her siblings, who would tease the woman about it. She had two older brothers: Jax, who was mostly into art, which rarely paid off well enough, and the Abel, who sold anything that would to anyone who would buy. Her younger sister, Yuno, who followed in the steps of her older one and was currently about to finish the academy, was a big tease, knowing that there will be a few officers staring at her during the ceremony and Yuno was so picky of her attire. Leillal packed the necessities, just when she usually departed for her travels. What she did not notice was her sister sliding a bag with some mysterious contents into the luggage for the woman to discover much later.

And now, the blond was looking at the screen, rather nervously. Leillal was wearing a long, white dress, just like her mother wanted. It was quiet lacy with a few intricate patterns condensing around her waist and chest to emphasize both. Despite being as pale she was, the dress didn’t blend into her skin, rather decorated to be more pretty. The long and heavy hem would drag on the ground. She knew her legs would hurt as it was agreed that she was going to walk down the aisle and then stand for quite sometimes. Well, the isle being the long walk of the bridge, despite her mother’s disagreement, Hux insisted. And to be quiet honest, the bride most certainly loved it and saw it fit.

\- Aw, look at this, you look beautiful. Now, whatever you did for that man to agree to marry you, continue doing that. And trust me, I am NOT taking you back. - her mother glazed at her seriously. Before passing away, her father lost so much in gambling that this marriage was the only saving for her family and both women knew that. Was Leillal willing to be a sacrifice for people who treated her such? She did have siblings whom she loved after all. She closed her eyes and mentally thought to herself “it’s for them”, then, let her mother help her put on white lace gloves and secure the veil with a small crown decorated by her family jewels.

\- I wore this when I got wedded to your father. This is so old, we don’t keep track. It is always passed to the daughter with the most beneficial marriage. - the mother paused, even in her cold heart she felt something move slowly, not because she knew her family was saved now, but more or less because her daughter was getting married to a decent man, - … You should know I am proud. - Leillal's eyes widened as she quickly turned around, nearly losing her balance but luckily got caught in her mother’s arms. They gave each other long embrace, for a moment both felt the time when they didn’t fight on daily basis. The mother felt her face getting a bit wet before quickly wiping her tears away and then parting from her daughter.

\- Two more minutes. Don’t you dare to run away. - they both giggled, knowing well she couldn’t run. Her legs were aching badly just from standing so long and soon she’ll have to walk down the aisle in a rather heavy dress. Lucky, Abel, the brother, popped in with a big smile, the second the mother walked out.

\- Look at you, sis! Oh, mum even gave you that jewel, that’s nice. You think you could do it? You look very nice, by the way. - he always talked too much too fast, which is why his job related around selling things rather than serving up any sort of chain of command. She’d nod to him a few times, and he continued his blabbering about how pretty she looked, sliding hands down his gray suit a few times. - You think you are going to be happy? - he paused, which was rare, his eyebrows pointed down, he was concerned for his little sister.

\- Don’t ask that. I will be as satisfied as I can be. I get to travel on a warship again, you know? - he didn’t respond, simply took her hand, letting her use him instead of a cane.

\- Mom might not take you back, but I will. - He shot her a quick smile and they walked out of the room together, she’d put a gentle smile upon her lips, looking up towards the “alter” with Hux standing there alongside with his first officer. The general looked way too handsome in the white attire of the Empire. Despite the fact that it made it look even paler, she found it flattering to the eyes. He had his chest decorated with a few medals alongside with colorful stripes representing rank. The bridge was outlooking on the planet, the star of their system and of course, the moons. It all combined together in a rather beautiful view. Upon her arrival, officers stood up, greeting her in a martial manner, making her feel remnants of when she served. Hux’s eyes widened a little when he noticed her appearance in a long dress with the hem dragging on the ground, without a cane. Suddenly, she looked normal without a crutch, strong woman who was now greeted by his higher ranking soldiers, and she stood and walked as a superior. Her family was applauding softly. They decided to hold the ceremony on one of the command starships, entirely designated to General’s personal business for the time being. The two pairs of blue eyes have met as he reached out to her once she made her way across the bridge to stand next to him at the end of the room. Bride’s arm would let go of her brother, reaching towards the red headed male. Her balance would wonder for a moment, causing the general to step forward, wrapping one of his arms around her back and helping her take the last step toward the awaiting officer. A few females in the audience blushed, others glared in envy, but knew they couldn't compete with her family’s hierarchy.

Kylo Ren glared with a slight smirk upon his lips, quiet the thoughts running through his head as he observed from a higher tower upon the entire thing. He decided to not make a formal appearance at the ceremony, but he never thought of not attending, making this trip a hush-hush. Officially, the new Supreme Leader was still on his ship. His eyes have caught the imbalance as he remembered the woman’s history but knew well enough this was the best course for his general to take to avoid those silly remarks and rumors by others, no matter how much they hated each other, they needed to maintain the supremacy and control among others. If needed, a weak woman can be killed easily under a cover-up of an accident. “Hux made a Perfect choice for once”.

The vows were written and revised so many times and aside from those papers, they had to sign. Practice run of everything was done the day before, and this process felt to Hux like a stupid formality. However, this was insisted by her family so he decided to go along. His hand was still supporting the future wife, as she had to hold onto his hand while they pronounced vows.

\- I hereby vow to take Lady Leillal Barpent as my wife. I vow to be a candid partner, an honest husband, and a carrying father when such time comes. I vow to take care of not only my wife but also her family. I vow to protect, honor and care for her well being. Above all, I vow to only be alongside with Leillal as my only partner and wife and remain faithful to her until death do us part. - He sounded too serious, cold, as if he was commanding himself, despite such she found his voice rather… soft.

\- I hereby vow to take Sir Armitage Hux as my husband. I vow to be a candid partner, an honest wife, and a carrying mother when such time comes. I vow to support my husband decisions, take care of his needs, and care for him as my partner. I vow to follow my husband wherever the First Order may take him, to stand by his side, and to land him all of the power I may behold. Above all, I vow to only be alongside with Armitage as my only partner and husband and remain faithful to him until death do us part. - Her voice shifted a bit, clearly having more emotions. The blond was nervous and her legs were killing her so badly, she felt as if she was standing on needles and not in flats. Before she could realize it, he suddenly scooped her up under the applause of well over 300 people in the room, carrying her despite the rather heavy dress. She’d smile and lean into closer to his neck, whispering so that it would go unnoticed by the rest of the public whilst they were yelling congratulations.

\- You should put me down, the dress is heavy. - he’d smirk, trying to ignore the fact that he just realized he should probably visit a gym a bit more.

\- I don’t need a crying wife at my wedding. - that seemed a good reason for him to continue to carry her down the aisle, which seemed almost endless, before finally placing her down at the end, then intertwine their arms, letting her lean onto him. In few hours, as most people got rather drunk or well fed, all congratulations and other traditions were over with, the couple remained sitting at the table. Hux was doing it more or less out of courtesy for his, now, wife, whilst Leillal was just trying to use some alcohol to numb the nonexistent pain in her legs. A shadow emerged behind them, as the general popped to his legs, standing at attention. She’d turn around in her seat slowly, then bow, whilst remaining sitting. Kylo frowned the waved his gloved hand off for Armitage to go back to normal.

\- I wanted to give you my congratulations on fixing your problems. I am rather pleased that Barpent family is going to support both Hux and I in this. - His voice was low, but both of them knew who it was despite the fact that his face was greatly covered by the black hood of the cloak, - and Mrs. Barpent-Hux, I hope you can continue to hide that crutch of yours.

\- I do not intend to, Supreme Leader. I am a proud veteran of Your army, Sir. - Hux’s eyes widened, and if he could not control himself, his jaw would probably drop to the ground. He felt both proud of his wife and threatened by Ren who leaned forward toward the blond woman.

\- I hope it works for you. - Followed by that he rose back up, glaring at Hux, quiet the thoughts running through his head, - Enjoy the first night. - And the man simply turned around, hurried to walk away, leaving both of them slightly puzzled.

\- I apologize, S… Armitage. - she bowed her head, now to her husband. His response was to shake his head and offer her a hand to get up. With the grace of the Supreme Leader, they had no reason to remain at the party

\- Do you think you can walk? I am going to show you to your room. - he decided to drop the topic and move on.

\- Not our? - she put her palm onto his, using it along with the table to get up on her feet and let him support her as they slowly left the room, letting house droids for clean up after the entire crowd. The ship was going to float in space quietly for 48 hours as a “vacation”.

\- No. I would prefer to not engage in any activity that may get more tiring than the last few weeks. - he glared at the girl, somewhat irritated only to notice a soft smile upon her lips.

\- Yeah, I guess you’d need rest after carrying me. - her smile grew larger as she met his gaze and for a second they stopped. She was shorter, weaker, absolutely vulnerable. He could break her by just letting go of her arm, yet instead, he’d secure it by placing his other hand on her hip. The corners of his mouth grew up just slightly. She may tease him now, a needed break for both of them after all those straight-faced and monotone conversations. By far, he had not changed his mind or regretted the decision made. She was not perfect and neither was he. Perfect would get tiring too fast and, most importantly, irritating.Yet, a small voice in his head reminded him of the most recent events and the humiliation before this arrangement.

\- Here, - the door slid to aside, revealing a large bedroom with a queen-sized bed, desk and huge window facing outer space. Her arm relaxed and she’d slip it out if his grip, for a moment shocking the man as she hurried to hold onto the wall, slowly making her way to the window. He stood by watching, unsure if it was the best idea to leave yet. She made her way to the window laying both her palms on the glass and closing her eyes. Her paleness and lightness contrasted everything else around - she was much like a white flower in a bucket of black paint. Hux did not understand, starting to frown at his own confusion.

\- What... are you doing? - his question reminded her of a command, causing her to lean back and look toward him.

\- I miss being on a ship. I feel like it's been centuries. The sparkling of stars, the coldness of glass. The sounds and sight of blasters and bombs going off around the ship, I miss it so much. - she took a few deep breaths, looking at the man, who corrected his expression back to being absolutely calm.

\- Is that so. Well, have a good night. - he suddenly felt like running away and hurried to exit the room, disappearing somewhere down the hallway. If Leillal was so eager to be in the middle of everything, that may not end up well for him. General had no plans of becoming a widower, which considering everything, was where he was headed. That wife of his was quite out of control, not just with him, but Ren as well. Hux’s steps seemed to get more violent as he rushed off toward his room for the time being. He needed to do some research on a few ideas that he did have in regards to controlling her: nothing major, he should probably start with a talk.


	3. "Honeymoon" or Rumors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> if what stated in this chapter is too much for you in terms of violence, I am warning you that this is nothing compared to what is to come.  
> P.S: This is not even dipping a toe in the water, more like just noticing the surface of the water.

They didn't spend much time together for the next few days. She was still resting from the long ceremony, while he was too busy getting the place in order. Stormtroopers had started to arrive more and more along with technicians, medics, pilots. This ship was brand new and was about to head into the middle of the battle. General and his wife were then going to join Kylo's imperial ship. Everything seemed to be adding up just fine despite the rush. She spent most of day 1 alone in her room - simply observing what was going on and letting the droids take care of food and such. Hux, on the other hand, spent most of the day one giving orders and assigning everyone to certain positions, locations and so on. The next day, she grabbed her cane, ready to have a rather short walk simply down the hall, possibly towards the arriving chamber to observe those who were coming. She pulled out her uniform: a teal pencil skirt and a jacket, slipping those upon herself. She realized that her medal was still attached to the little pocket upon her chest. It was one of many, this one, however, symbolized reminded her of the retirement, however, also gave her a rank of colonel. Not bad for a woman of the first order, she thought and corrected the medal with her hand. She pulled hair up in a high long tail and proceeded to exit her room after slipping on a pair of black flats, which weren't entirely the appropriate attire, but they worked. She proceeded to walk along the wall, resting most of her weight upon the cane without meeting anyone. She frowned to herself. Does it mean she was on the highest deck of sleeping docs? Only commanders and very high position staff were allowed in this area and she didn't quite expect to put on the same level as them, as usually she was placed lower, but then again, she did not have her rank until after the incident. Leila took a deep breath as she heard one of the doors buzz down the hallway and a man wearing black classic uniform had emerged from within, turning towards her. He was an older gentleman with a rank of captain or higher. He continued on his way toward her at first, not bothering to acknowledge even the existence of a young lady with a cane, until he finally realized the lines on her left sleeve at which, he froze and gave her a proper greeting, standing at attention.

\- No need, captain. - she waved him off, as she simply could not greet him in return. At which he gave her a quick, formal bow and continued on his way. She took a rather deep breath, noticing that she was about to run into a wall. Was it even worth it to take the elevator down and observe other people absurd reaction to her status and rank? She decided that it was not, and thus, made a slow upon her heels, deciding to head back. Her muscles were still aching from spending almost an entire day on her feet as she turned around and was about to head back, when she heard female’s voice chatting in between each other, clearly gossip. She took a step back, leaning under an arch of the hallway as she continued to eavesdrop, which was always helpful to get the hang of a situation and adjust her behavior: observe, learn, adjust, and act.

\- So, I heard they had a wedding on the bridge yesterday. Weird, though?

\- I know right, I’d want to get married on a pretty flowery planet, what a dull woman she is.

\- But now, the general is taken, no more flirting for you.

\- Oh, have you heard the rumors about her? I heard, well, that she offered _herself_ to get so high up in the rank.

\- Yeah, I heard that too. But, then I also heard she was well respected by her team. Wonder if she fu...

Leillal took a deep breath and shook her head, emerging from her spot, looking at the other females, whose jaws nearly dropped as they quickly observed the color of her uniform, the medal, and then the rank. All of them immediately froze, standing up tall,  and quickly giving a bow to the lady.

\- Colonel Barpent! - the blond haired female just sighed looking at three human girls in front of her. One of them was a pilot, while the other two seemed to belong to a rank of sergeant as they were not wearing appropriate attire, rather just something casual, but she could observe based on calluses and the fingernails. She did not bother to give them a proper greeting.

\- I see you have a lot of free time, ladies. Enjoying the break? - one of the girls gulped starting, whilst another rolled her eyes.

\- Yes, Ma’am! - they responded together.

\- Isn’t this a higher level sleeping quarters? I believe you may have confused the floor. - her voice was soft with notes of power and arrogance, barely notable, that trailed back to long ago, nothing like it used to be.

\- Maybe _you_ did. - one of the women relaxed, then glared at the blond with the cane, - you don’t officially have a rank. Just a retired vet.

\- Yeah, - another one chimed in, - retired kissing asses. - she’d smirk, noticing the expression on the woman’s face go wild with anger. Her brows were clenched together, with her jaw bones showing more as she clenched her teeth together.

\- You probably spend all your free time riding general’s co.. - suddenly all of them felt a rather cold aura as it became harder to breathe, but the expression of the blond was worth it to them. They were jealous, even if they may not realize it. A woman of their age as the colonel and married to the General was not common or easily achieved the position. Just as Leillal was opening her mouth, to reply to their attitude, they noticed that the general himself had emerged, walking toward his wife.

\- Is there an issue? - he glared and flustered girls and his, rather furious, partner.

\- No, Armitage, there is not. Is that correct, ladies? - she took a deep breath, knowing she couldn’t show him this side of her character, as the heavy atmosphere started to fill with the tension between the couple.

\- Yes, Ma’am, General! - the women quickly hurried to disappear down the hallways, rushing toward the elevator. She glared one last time as they walked away, sometimes wishing she could use her cane to hit people without falling down.

\- I overheard. - he commented rather shortly, glaring down at her, his blue eyes shifting slightly grey. His voice was quiet and low.

\- I am used to this. - she shook her head, attempting to conceal any sort of irrationality she may have had toward the event. He knew she lied and did not like that answer. After the most recent events with the change in power and attempts to find and fight Luke Skywalker, his life felt like a mess and this woman was trying to do the same, at least, that was how he felt. He needed control.Neither one really expected what happened next.  His gloved hand reached out and grabbed her chin, cupping her head look toward him as he lowers himself upon her, his lips nearly brushing against hers. His face showed signs of annoyance, while her eyes locked onto him, her lungs refusing to expand and let her inhale as she would hold her breath. His grip was strong enough to hurt, yet she would not dear to repel him, if she’d try to brush away it would cause a bigger scandal. Suddenly, the grip softened whilst his other arm would wrap around back, pulling her closer. Leillal could swear her fingers went numb as both of them ignored the sound of her cane hitting the floor, as it fell out of her hands. His grayish eyes looked straight at her face, peaking into the light blue eyes of his wife.

\- Remember, we are partners. - he paused, his voice was quiet, but rather more hostile, than anticipated. She could feel the warmth of the breath way too close to her own mouth. Despite his strict and calm voice, her heart was beating so fast, she was sure he could hear it. - That will reflect on me, as well. I suggest that you fix any such rumors or incidents on your own, whatever it may take.  - With the sound of a nearby door opening, he would take a step back, still keeping an arm around her waist, bending down to get her cane and return it safely in her hands. The colonel walked through a door, standing at attention immediately as he laid eyes on the general, realizing what he may or may not have just missed.

\- Leillal, I would like for you to return to your room and prepare, as the jump to hyperspace is in a few hours, and following that we will transfer on the ship of the Supreme Leader. - she raised a brow, after adjusting to rely on the cane once again. His words were a strict command, a one she was going to disobey. He implied that she should remain at her room, yet, she had no plans for such. Unlike him, she still remembered that they needed to play roles of lovers.

\- I will meet you at the bridge then. - she smiled coldly and professionally, then turned around, slowly walking alone and leaving Hux with the colonel behind, both of them somewhat dumbfounded. General couldn't believe that a woman just avoided his order, whilst the colonel was hoping he wouldn’t get demoted based on accidental spying of the couple. Hux turned around on his heels, gave a quick bow to the fellow soldier and continued to his original destination, knowing the newly promoted colonel will keep his mouth shut. General’s head was now preoccupied with many thoughts, primarily, the fact that she dared to disobey him again. That talk will have to more serious than he anticipated and more strict. He was rather tired of losing control over, what sometimes felt like everything, and if his life depended on it, he will make that woman submit. He thought that she was perfect, especially with how she followed anything along the way before, and he was not going to let that go. She will obey him.

Leillal made it to her room eventually, quite flustered as she simply crashed on the bed, looking at the boring ceiling of her residence. Her hand traveled up to her chin, letting her fingers touch the placed where his fingers were placed. It did not hurt anymore, meaning there would no bruises. She let her eyelids drop, as she mentally returned to that moment. Why did she feel so nervous and upset by his anger? She never cared when her superiors would try to control her and she had other interests, always finding a loophole. Yet, with Hux it felt different, she felt it was wrong to disobey him for some reason.  Without thinking of what she was doing, softly caressing her index finger and letting it glide over her lips, on which she could feel the warmth of his breath a few minutes earlier. Her index finger moved over the middle of her mouth, as it took her a moment realize just how red her cheeks were, when she jerked her hand off, thinking to herself “ I have to endure this for my family. I can’t afford to screw this up, I simply cannot lose this union. I need to get those rumors in order. And, I can’t let him get to me like that ever again. ” And while she may not realize it, that touch was just the beginning, just the little spark of the match before it sets on fire the line of gasoline trailing all the way back to a tank filled with gas. Just a spark before everything blows, it was the beginning, the ignition, the initiation. After a few more seconds of laying down, she’d get up and start packing clothing along with some minor items which she removed from her luggage, doing her best to focus on the task at hand rather at the events and her feelings. To her, it was a contract they signed for now.

General had his luggage packed that morning and after the separation with the girl hurried off back to the arrival chamber to oversee how First Order worked as a relentless machine. His gloved fingers gripped the edge of the rail as he smirked to himself, still keeping cold and uptight appearance. He enjoyed this. Everyone walked across the lane that he commanded, everyone followed the direction that he sat up, everyone arrived and left as he ordered. The control he had without Ren present felt so sweet. After all the disgrace and insult to his character, he dreaded the appearance back on any ship with Kylo, who fell too deep with his emotions. General, at least, always kept up the appearances and cool thinking when it came to political and strategic decisions. His people admired and respected him, whilst when with Kylo Ren, most of the people were too scared of him, for good reasons, but still. Was this the way to rule over the First Order? Fear? Hux frowned to himself and decided it was time to appear at the bridge, making sure his commanding officers and pilots were set to go for the jump.

It was no more than twenty minutes before the jump as the general was observing the ship from the bridge, looking down on the gigantic structure and feeling small tones of disappointment that he would have to leave this power to rely on the captain. He took a rather deep, long breath when he heard steps along with the cane which approached him. He didn’t bother to turn around and greet her, he was unpleased that she dared to appear in front of him. Barpent stood beside the General, which resulted in the entire room to go silent for just a second. Most of the eyes fixed upon the woman, whose fragile hand reached up to Hux’s face and brushed away a stubborn lock of hair which refused to be controlled, much like her. His eyes widened as he looked down at her. Her expression was calm, relaxed, and behind those blue eyes, he noticed something that went in tune with his anticipation of the transfer. She kept her opinions to herself, but if anything, both of them would agree that Ren needed balance, which he lacked now, making him an unpredictive maniac with a lightsaber, which by no mean is a good political tactic. He took her hand, this time just softly, not jerking it or holding it tightly, lowered his head and placed a quick kiss on her ring finger, keeping up the appearances of a loving couple. Her face turned softly pink and he knew he teased her enough when he’d let go of her hand and glare at a few people who seemed to forget that they were still at work.

\- Is everything prepared for the hyperspace? - cold commanding voice as he took a few steps away from his wife, knowing he will have to rejoin her later.

\- Yes, Sir! Closing the gates and setting up the shield now! - one of the officers responded while pressing corresponding buttons. A few seconds another voice followed by:

\- Sir, the shield is set and the gates are closed, preparing for hyperspace! - they could hear the engine and hyperspace generator starting to kick up the power whilst the general hurried off to his wife, looking at the woman who was staring out into the darkness of space. The lights started to emerge as the ship approached the hyperspace, while lines blasted along the glass. She had to lean on the cane with both of her hands, then she'd sigh and turn her head towards him. Their eyes met once again and there was a silent agreement of the fact that neither of them wanted to join the supreme leader; however, neither of them even remotely had a thought of running. Hux knew his position one day may as well overtake Ren’s, and Barpent knew she joined him not to run away, but be in the middle of everything. At that moment there was compassion, a short second, but both of them felt it for one another. Minutes later the ship stalled as it arrived at the given location, now surrounded by many alike ships, which all circled around one, Mega-class Star Dreadnought,  which was perfectly repaired now, the _Supremacy_.


	4. Nightmares. Part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love! I am very very excited and happy for the support I am receiving!  
> Let me know if you have any questions or comments or critiques <3  
> -Aoi Y.

Leillal and Armitage arrived in a smaller transport shuttle operated by a single pilot. They sat on the opposite sides of the small craft, doing their best to avoid looking at each other. He ended up taking his datapad and checking with the most recent updates on locations of the last few resistance fighters, along with the scavenger and Princess Organa. The reports did not indicate anything useful, meaning the chances were high that they may have been scattered all around the galaxy in attempts to find friends and beneficiaries for the restoration of their troops. His thoughts immediately crossed over to possible outcomes if the First Order did not act soon and fast enough. “Never underestimate your enemy” - a lesson that the New Republic has learned and the First Order was not going to repeat as long as Hux remained at least its General. On the opposite couch, she spent her time browsing holonet for articles or books, along with some political news. She began to think about the events which would happen when they land: formal greetings, most likely a meeting with the Supreme Leader, followed by Hux shoving her into their quarters, followed by his walking away. She thought it would be good to follow his lead for now at least, they were both adjusting to one another after they got thrown into this marriage. There were suddenly all these small logistical questions in regards to their daily lives which she wanted to ask. Unexpectedly, the pod shook a bit, as the landing upon the arrival chamber was not perfect, making the two look up and stare into each other's eyes for a bit. What did she saw in those cold, icy blue eyes, which in the light of his datapad seemed more teal than the usual grey? What did he notice in the shining crystal blue eyes of the girl? Was it worry for one another or self-preservation? It was a mere second, followed by them quickly avoiding each other's stares. After the captain finally let the ramp down, Hux got up first and offered her a hand, which she quickly accepted, hastened to place her datapad in one of the bags, letting him give her the cane and then proceed out of the pod. They stepped out of the ship together, he offered his right arm now, holding it o his stomach, so that she could hang her left arm and use him for additional support. It was a bit annoying to the general; however, Armitage Hux found himself getting used it and moderately proud of the stares that they received as perfect lines of stormtroopers and officers greeted the newly married couple with their right hands up in the air, whilst keeping their hands in fists. Standing next to him, Leillal could feel just how proud and satisfied he was at that second: everything was so flawlessly organized, while his subordinates looked at him with admiration, respect, and envy. The corners of his mouth would rise up, as he proceeded ahead, hearing congratulations of high ranking officers in regards to their marriage. She couldn’t help but keep her eyes on him, not even realizing that her lips were curled in a softest of smiles. With the corners of his eyes, he observed that there were a few people who paused or went out of their way to gaze at his wife; nevertheless, upon noticing her attire of a colonel, most of them quickly decided that it’s in their best interest to not question.

\- General Hux, - one of the captains approached the couple as they were about to enter an elevator which would send them to their new living arrangements. The man was older and rather very, very pale, quickly bowing his head to the general and the woman, - the Supreme Leader awaits you in the throne room.

\- In that case, please guide my wife to our quarters. - the Hux gazed at the woman for a second, as she had to quickly offer him a polite smile, ready to follow his request since she was not so thrilled on meeting the Supreme Leader again.

\- General, the Supreme Leader is expecting you both, Sir. - Hux did not change his expression much, but she noticed the slight surprise. General nodded, deciding to take the least crowded path to the throne room; Leillal following next to him, doing her best to hide the irritation, “So much for keeping away” - she thought, her eyes fixed on the metal cane of hers.

\- Leillal, I would encourage you to just stay quiet.  - an apparent remark of her last conversation with Kylo.

\- I am not stupid. - she spoke fairly harshly, her annoyance now mixed with unsettledness by his assumptions that she would be out of her mind to trigger a force user. Hux did not appreciate the tone of her voice in the slightest bit, knowing damn well he had to keep her safe and attempt to not get slapped or thrown around the walls again. General quickly stopped, rapidly turning around and approaching the woman, as a result pinning her to the nearest wall. His gloved hands on each side of her face, leaving her no choice but to hold on the wall. Her legs ached badly, whilst her eyes appeared to try and find a spot other than his face, as the general would lean in even closer.

\- Remember, you are my wife and you belong to me, and I expect order and obedience. At least, as colonel, you should know how to follow an order. Is that understood? - he was absolutely furious. He handled her well so far and believed the conversation they had the other time would be enough, apparently, not. Thus, he decided to pressure it, looking at her eyes that tried to escape his glare, but in the end, stared at him. She gulped and her voice shook for a mere second and mumbled a soft “Yes, General”. He would, just as suddenly, let go and continue on, keeping the rest of the way silent. What just happened confused them both. Armitage Hux did not really understand why he was so rash and unforgiving, he should have taken a different route and talked to her in another manner. Maybe a bouquet of flowers as an apology after they see Ren? General frowned to himself. Where is he going to get flowers… She kept her eyes down now, still doing her best to keep up with his pace. Contrast to what she said earlier, she _felt_ stupid. So much for trying not to upset him. This day was only getting worse and this was just the third day of their marriage if the ceremony was unaccounted. Maybe she should try and make it up to him in a way? Make him a dinner, but she was limited in her cooking to a few breakfast dishes. Massage? A bit too intimate, yet she needed to try something. Who knows, maybe just a talk would be fine. They made it to the needed elevator, walked in, both keeping distance as general put in some numbers and his security key followed by the appropriate buttons for the throne room.  The pair of his grey-blue eyes slid toward the girl, who in return looked briefly toward him, while the little cabin continued to speed up. They were both unsure why would _He_ bother to ask them both to come, yet the awkwardness of the room made both of them turn away. As the elevator finally approached the right stop, she let him take the lead when the door buzzed and he walked in first, letting her trail behind, then stop once he was close enough to the throne, on which, Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader, the Emperor of the Dark Sight, the Master of the Knights of Ren resided. The room was completely restored, yet it was very dark and cold in there. The glass was covered with some black material, and as she made her way across the red shiny floor, her eyes trained toward the black throne, on which a man would remain, his dark brown eyes following Hux and for a mere second jumping on her, and then to her cane.

\- Welcome back, General Hux. - it was dry, Kylo didn’t seem to be very pleased or upset on any matter yet.

\- Thank you, the Supreme Leader. - Hux's voice was low, full of politeness, or as much as there could have been. There were still noted arrogance and exasperation. No matter how much the red-headed male could pretend, he could never fully see Ren as a fitting and appropriate Leader.

\- I wanted to officially give you my blessing and congratulate both of you on the union, - Ren continued on with formalities, just ignoring the tones in Hux’s voice, - I hope your honeymoon went well.

\- Yes, Sir. - both responded at the same time, both with the exact same thought “there was no honeymoon.”

\- Lady Barpent-Hux, as a daughter of high ranked noble loyalist family, I do expect that they will provide undying support to the First Order. - Now, Kylo was asking good “questions”.

\- As my family recovers, our friends will hear that the First Order helped us, and while that may sound insignificant, with my new position and rank, they will be very willing and ready to offer monetary and other support, the Supreme Leader. - she wouldn’t dare to lie but was disobeying Hux’s order, as she could not simply brush of Kylo Ren.

\- Good. It seems that my reign is going to gain more supporters. - Kylo was pleased now, - What are the latest updates, General? - and also impatient. If he were to ever get his hands on Rey again, he needed to crush the rebellion beforehand. The last pieces of the Republic had to be wiped clean, to show her a clean page and a chance for a new start. Leillal felt the atmosphere in the room get heavier, as her eyes would slowly shift toward her husband.

\- The Rebellion has been scattered into the outer rim, despite that, the troops are searching them out and eradicating them along with their allies. Currently, my officers are tracking any possible distress signals from and to locations of the survivors, which had been very successful. Most recently, there was a signal sent to Sullust, where this was found, - Hux pressed something on his datapad, and a hologram appeared between him and Ren. It was a rather massive station, surrounded by windy weather of semi-green environment of what appeared to be a wet dessert, - There was a Rebel base, which could have caused issues as it contained substantial fire power in terms of cannons and a few ships; however, - another click of the bottom as a short clip, taken from one of the commanders on the mission, showed the individual giving commands as a few TIE-fighters approached the base, releasing a heavy air attack, and in the following second, the entire base went up in balls of fire, - it is now destroyed. - Hux finished, pressing another button, then looked up at the Supreme Leader, who leaned forward in his throne during the few scenes, then relaxed back.

\- Any updates on General Organa? - did his voice shake or was it something that both of them have hallucinated about(?).

\- No, Sir. Our best stealth troops are now in search while there are bounties placed on all other Rebels. - red-headed male presses onto his datapad a few more times, quickly flipping through the images of the actual bounties. Most of them said “dead or alive”, with the exception of one, which after showing to Kylo, General quickly hurried to close and finish his report. - There have not been any sightings of Millenium Falcon either, which is either a reason that they are hiding at a single location or had abandoned the ship.

Kylo responded by nodding, a quick “continue looking” said in rather low and irritated tone. Results were not immediate, but he was being rather anxious. Hux lowered his head down for a second, which Leillal repeated, then he proceeded to turn around and continue toward the elevator after they both heard a quick and dry “dismissed”. She finally took a deep breath once they were inside the elevator with a closed door. Her head was spinning somewhat, mostly due to the heavy atmosphere observed inside the room. Was it always so intense between the two of them? She let out a deep, long sigh, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

\- I will show you to our accommodations; however, I have a series of meetings. - Armitage appeared ignorant to her stress when he spoke coldly, or by this point, she considered normal. His tone of voice rarely changed with her and this time was not one. The elevator stopped and she made a mental note on the floor, as he walked, followed by the woman. They made their way down a long, empty hall. It appeared that this part of the ship was blocked off from others and required a special access. Finally, they ended up at a door which buzzed softly to General’s key as it opened and let them to a huge room. He invited her in with a gesture of his hand toward the inside of the apartment, letting her in first. He’d watch her facial expression from the corner of his eyes, wondering on the reaction to the new living arrangements. Her blue eyes seemed to puzzle all over the room immediately, studying and taking in the surrounding information. The color of the floor and the ceiling were the same as anywhere; however, the walls were painted with a dirty dark blue. Most of the wall of the giant living room was a transparisteel window, outlooking into space. The living arrangements were huge, with tons of empty space, which generally on a ship, such as Finalizer, was simply not allowed. It may not have been as opulent as her home, as the main colors of furniture were kept simple in black, greys or dark tones. There was style and most definitely an expense. Was it for her solace? Doubtfully, she could see the man enjoying this type of luxury: not too much, but of good quality and great comfort. As he quickly appointed places such as living room, dining room, kitchen and then assigned a door to her bedroom, she abruptly paused at shelves with tons of books. Leillal did not expect him to take any interest in reading books or collecting art, yet somehow it was befitting his character. All the books were regard military function, power gain, political affiliations and so on. She recognized a few authors and a few books which she read or studied along the timeline of her career.

\- That’s my library. You are welcome to read anything as long as ends up at the same exact place, - General was meticulous with organization and the way that all the books were in perfect order pleased him very much. She made a notice of his exceptional neatness of the entire place: everything was exactly where it belonged. As he walked her to the door, he continued on with professional formalities, as if giving a tour of a ship to one of his commanders. - Your room has a private office, bathroom, and an automated closet, as requested by your mother. In addition, most of your baggage is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Your access card is on your desk. - He finished and hurried to leave the room. When she followed behind him, he was forced to quickly point to the door on the same wall as the entrance, - my private office is here; however, you are better off asking droids in case you need anything.

\- Yes, General. I understand. - She gave him a soft, professional smile. In return, he lowered his head a bit and left preoccupied with thoughts of upcoming assignments, he had to overview and all the different presentations and ideas for projects or budget cuts.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As days passed, she preoccupied her time with organizing the items that she received. Her traveling bag was shoved in one of many storage places until further notice. Supremacy was the capital for now, at least, until the Supreme Leader decides on something useful. As of now, the only solid decision she has heard of was the pursuing and destroying the last bits of resistance. Armitage and her had done little communication, the most they have done was a one time dinner together which was spent in complete awkward silence. That night he seemed so exhausted, the bags under his eyes had only grown more as she noticed. He stayed up way too late and woke up way too early. In all of the free time that she had on her hand, the blond woman decided it was time to subdue any possible rumors and there were plenty. The first and the easiest was the fact that they married for one another’s appearances. Solution? She showed up during his short breaks, generally with a kind word or a cup of a warm drink or a meal. Next one was the fact that she slept her way upstairs. Solution? She made sure that even if she did not wear the uniform, her medals and rank still appeared on her clothing. In addition, she had met with a few of her subordinates who were more than happy to help their previous commander spread rumors of her intelligence and strategic actions. There were some other ones, such as the fact that she slept with her brothers or that the relationship was not faithful on either side, yet, most of these died down rather fast whenever she would appear next to him. People knew how to shut their mouths when present in front of the couple. As her name became more and more known along with the long list of her missions, the public started to realize that it was not just her family status or his money, on some level they were very similar, except for one incident. The official story was that on her last mission, after an explosion, she was left under ruins for over two days. Not a complete lie, but she could not tell much about that part. It was all a big blur to her. In regards to Kylo Ren, she made sure not to appear anywhere around that man, but could not avoid running into him in hallways, only to catch a glimpse of his frustrations and unbalanced emotions. It really did make her wonder who was the woman who could unbalance this man to such extent. Despite small, inconvenient incidents everything was falling into a type of a routine. She was preoccupied with answering of congratulations and messages from distant relatives, friends, and allies. Now that her rank rose significantly with the help of the First Order, there were many of those who wanted something and others who wanted to stand in a favorable position. She paused when she noticed a message from… her heart had skipped a beat and sank all the way in her toes. Not in a romantic type of way, in the kind of way that resulted her body go into paralysis, making her chest clunch and tighten so painfully, preparing to relax upon the blow of death that came upon her neck.

She blinked, took a breath, clicked a few buttons, making sure that the General would be notified of her required meeting. Then, she’d follow up with a quick message to the sender that she will be there as soon as time allows, getting up onto her feet and pacing around her room, before finally deciding there would be no good way for her to get out of this: she was summoned by the Supreme Leader.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hux did not return back to their quarters until it was rather late, as his schedule was too preoccupied with the argument over the selection of the planet for the new Starkiller base. This time the improvements in the plans practically made the monster indestructible; however, he had to go through everything again. It was essential for them to have that type of superpower in order to continue their reign, yet the logistics were getting in the way.

The General made his way to the shower, letting himself indulge in the warmth of the water after an 18-hour shift, followed by a change to his sleeping attire, only to sit in his bed, still working with the datapad and reviewing the best locations possible over and over again. A few hours into the night he heard a moan(?). It was probably just something his tired mind was inserting. Another rather loud feminine groan. No, he did not just hear that, it repeated again. He frowned at first, wondering who would dare to do this so late at night, only to realize it was a painful scream of the woman in the other room. His ears knew the type of noise a woman made in pleasure, and this was not the type. It seemed to be the type of scream in panic and complete helplessness. He immediately jumped from under the sheets, nearly crashing into the walls along the way, as he dashed through the doors toward her bedroom. The door buzzed to his key as his eyes opened wide: she was alone in the darkness with the stars outside being the only relying source of light. His blue eyes observed a blond female groaning and moaning in pain as her eyes were shut together. Long fingers grasping the sheets as she twisted side to side as if trying to break from under something or someone while remained forcefully held down. She looked so much in pain, it almost physically hurt him too. She screamed again, this time even louder than the other, yet remained in the maze of her nightmares. This was happening way too fast. Hux was unsure what to do and beyond shock, he simply stood in the door in his “pajamas”: a pair of dark, loose pants, watching her misery.


	5. Nightmares. Part 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting to some good tags in this chapter, which means there is a depiction of violence and I strongly recommend that you avert reading if you find this uncomfortable.  
> Finally, we dip our toes in the water.  
> Thank you for all the kudos! I really do appreciate it so very much! Makes me keep going <3  
> \- Aoi Y.

Leillal finally decided there would be no good way for her to get out of this: she was being summoned by the Supreme Leader himself. Her pale blue eyes gazed at the attire she was in, only for her to realize she was not dressed appropriately. Her attire consisted of loose pants and a simple shirt: something she wore to lounge around and respond to messages. She swiftly stumbled to her walk-in closet, pressing a couple buttons on the controller to let it slide through her clothing until the blond stopped on what appeared to be perfect for the occasion.  It was a professional looking dress: a simple teal dress with a turtleneck and long sleeves along with a black belt without unnecessary cut and light fabric which allowed her to walk freely. Her heart was already starting to race while she hurried to change and fix her ponytail in a bun. The final result that refelted in the mirror was a truly noble woman, who could easily pass as a chancellor in the days of the Old Republic. The entire way to the private meeting room, not a throne room, felt like a never endless hallway with turns and elevator. Leillal stood in front of the appointed doors, which had the same designation as with the hologram that she received, she checked that twice. Two stormtroopers guarded the entrance. For the last second fix, she quickly slid her left hand down the dress while having a moment to take a long and deep breath. She needed to appear composed and serene, despite what she may or not be feeling. The door opened and invited her to a room without any windows; the only furniture present was a table and two chairs, one of which was already preoccupied with Kylo Ren.

\- Take a seat. - his voice sounded so loud in the previous silence of the room. For some reason, his voice roughly reminded her of Hux: unshaken and steady, but deeper. She took a few steps with her cane’s help and sat down as directed, leaving the phrik* cane on the side of her armchair.

\- Thank you, the Supreme Leader. - she lowered her head in a polite bow. The veteran had a few ideas as to why she was summoned in a one on one meeting, although she remained uncertain of the true reasoning. Kylo was too preoccupied staring into his gloved hands and did not look up at the woman. She made a note that his hair were messy as they dripped down in waves, blending in with the black attire, while the dark undereye circles defined his eyes. The scar made him more handsome and intimidating at the same time.

\- Tell me, Colonel, are you enjoying your stay on the Supremacy? - To an ordinary person, this could be a sign of polite conversation, but she was a wife of General, high ranking veteran, and a noble with substantial political power; he was the Supreme Leader. No ordinary people were present here. She knew those words surely meant more.

\- Yes, the Supreme Leader, I am enjoying my stay very much. - her breaths were slow and steady, keeping her racing heart at bay.  His dark eyes  finally gazed at her and  caught hers and abruptly she felt his presence over her or, what was called _ the force _ , holding her firmly in place. Leillal kept on suppressing her thoughts down and as far as she could. There was a long pause, silence, just the pull and tag of force around her body. A realization hit her body rather violently as her legs started to pulsate with pain: he knew.

\- And your marriage? - Her heart skipped a beat, her skin turning even paler for a moment, when she gulped involuntarily, tasting her own fear.

\- I am very happy to be Armitage’s wife, Sir. His support for my family is invaluable. - she had to choose words very carefully, a natural survival instinct of a politician was kicking in, - With our union, there have been many hefty donations made to fund the Order, the Supreme Leader.

\- Cut it, Colonel. - he sensed it, deep inside her: the doubt, the fear, those thoughts,  - I need to know  _ the truth.  _

_-_ There are many truths, the Supreme.. - Her throat was squeezed violently, blocking the airway, but Ren’s hands remained together. She was trying to gasp for air, much like a fish, her mouth opening and closing in silence.

\- I need to know what nobility thinks. - he figured, she’d need some guidance when he eased the pressure letting the woman cough and catch her breath.

\- Didn’t you read my thoughts just now, the Supreme Leader? - she gulped, knowing this just might get her killed. In confirmation, the force wrapped around her neck again and this time lifting her up in the air. She was doing this on purpose, of course, she needed to see for herself just how much pushing he could handle.

\- That’s the thing, you see. You are hiding something! - he yelled out, getting to his feet as her body dropped on the floor with him leaning over her. She did her best to decline and refuse the natural extinct to run. Fight or flight: and in any case with Kylo Ren, the only reasonable action was the later.

\- Many Empiralist nobles don’t support you, Sir. They see you as unfit, which, I can confirm, - she felt the force choking her violently, her face turning red, yet she continued to speak quickly, - but can you disagree with them? _I am_ in a position to. - the grasp on her life weakened and Kylo Ren placed himself back in the chair.  \- This is what I see as a noble and politician, Sir. I see an unstable man who can’t grasp the entire concept of ruling over the galaxy. My words are not polite and I am loyal to the First Order, the words of Emeralist nobility are sharper than any blade and they are the ones with the bags of currency. Same goes for arms dealers, slave traders, Republican politicians, and ordinary people. - she was surprised she was still talking and alive, but as she got up on her knees, she noticed that the brunette was actually listening.

\- So what do you propose? - his voice lowered and even softened a bit. He was aware of this after all. She slowly picked herself up off the floor, getting back in the chair, feeling rather embarrassed and humiliated, but not afraid. Kylo could feel the fear and there was none coming from her. This woman wouldn’t mind to die here and now.

\- Sir, I apologize for my doubt; however, I believe you have an entire council to help with such decisions and actions. - in response, she got a scoff.

\- Pfft, - Kylo leaned back in his chair, observing as the woman slowly got back in her chair by lifting herself up and making a few unstable steps before continuing their conversation. - They cannot be trusted. Most of what I get out of them is “ whatever you say”. - if it was appropriate, she would roll her eyes. Most people have some kind of preservation instincts and a lot of fear toward the dark force user so there was no surprise that a group of weak logistical officers would respond as such.

\- In that case, this is what I see now: the galaxy is in turmoil, torn between the New Republic and the First Order. The government of the New Republic is terminated, Rebels had vanished. Some are still holding onto the dreams of perfect democracy under the Republic, others had seen its corruption too personal. - she was talking fast, much like her brother trying to sell a new item, - What the galaxy needs right now is order, organization. The only way to win over the galaxy is not to fight, but to build treaties, gain allies, my Liege. You can choose to rule by fear; however, such won’t last. Fear makes people hate you, and from haters, you will build supporters of the Republic. Right now, the galaxy needs an organized, unshaken leader. - she finally paused, her eyes slowly gliding from the table towards Kylo’s face: he was frowning and troubled, listening to her words. There was a part of him that knew he could trust her, until he thought over her words again. They both knew she said something wrong when their eyes met for a short moment and she gulped involuntarily yet again/ 

\- Then tell me the truth, as a woman. - her eyes widened, there was something behind those words that terrified her. She was scared that he would push her to  _ that  _ place.

\- As a woman, I do believe you do bear attractiveness if… - she felt the grasp on her throat once more as her eyes widened staring into his, unable to even breathe without his permission.

\- That is not what I am talking about! - she felt the force wrapping around her head, trying to penetrate into that skull of hers, trying to wiggle something in there, to extracted what he wanted.

\- Stay out of my head! - she yelled desperately, somehow finding that air in her lungs. She was doing her best to keep any barriers up, to keep him out, to push him away, but she physically noticed her thoughts and memories starting to flow toward him no matter how much she’d try to pull on the force.

\- You are jealous, you feel betrayed! That is what I think as a woman… - she yelled again as he, shocked, let go of her entirely, this time she was lucky to land in her chair, taking desperate breaths, doing her best not to let any tears form in her eyes. She had to withstand this.

\- What else? - his tone was cold but puzzled, trembling, she was hitting the right spots, or, in reality, all the wrong ones.

\- You think you have a right to feel that way, but do you? Didn’t she come to you? - Ren’s eyes opened wide as he stared at the woman in front of he. She couldn’t possibly know that, - that passage is not one way, it floats both ways! You have to give and not only to take.. - she was now out of breath the tension in the room was going to burst the doors open any second now. Was she talking about him and Rey? Not only, those words meant something else as well. Kylo noticed that her eyes were glimmering in the darkness with water. There were dark marks settling upon her neck, the bruising, but the brunette could care less at that moment. He was infatuated with the thoughts of one source user, a scavenger, a woman and it only angered him that she was not there.

\- What haunts you is even worse, you can’t kill it! - her eyes opened wide as she started to breathe rapidly, her heart pumping the air in and out so fast, the oxygen spreading throughout the cells of her body. Her eyesight seemed to be turning dizzy, colors were blurring together, - That last mission of yours,  - her breathing was getting faster and faster, she reached out, grabbing onto her chest, her heart hurting so much, it was clenched together painfully tight. The pain seemed to spread around her body to every single of her body which was dying to her, as she couldn’t look away from the dark eyes of a source user, - Do you remember? What they did to you? - her world was spinning around, his words were starting to trail in her tears, she was loosing. Whatever he had a chance to gaze upon, which was not much, just her fear of that time, but she did not know that. His words were putting her there and then and she was losing control. Another breath as her body couldn’t stand it anymore. The world had vanished in front of her and she fainted. Kylo was still not satisfied enough, as he stormed out of the room giving an order to the stormtroopers to deliver the woman to her quarters. Kylo Ren had to let his anger out on something else. He was going to come after that woman later: he can’t just kill her without ruining support of the Imperialist nobility, that he knew now.

One of the stormtroopers picked up her body in a princess carry, they figured as much that it was inappropriate to carry a lady in any other way. They made their way down and across the hall until the door that wouldn’t open.

\- What do we do? - the one who was carrying her started.

\- We can’t just leave her here.

\- Maybe she has a card on her somewhere.

\- Let me see… - the second one reached out toward the woman’s side, sliding his gloved hands across her thighs when there was a sudden grasp of her thin fingers around the second men's arm as tightly as she could, and he instantly withdrew his hand.

\- Our apologies, Ma’am! - they replied together, as she nearly just as immediately pulled her hand away, making sure to keep her face down. Leillal didn’t want to anyone to see that expression on her face she knew she was making.

\- Let me down, please. - her voice was rugged as if she spend last hours screaming. The stormtrooper obeyed her command, slowly bending down and letting her stand on her own. Unexpectedly,  her knees gave in and both men ended up catching her by the arms, - Sorry and.. Um. Thank you. - she adjusted her weight on one of them, realizing her cane was absent. She’d free her arm from another one and reach under the belt, sliding out the card and giving to the second soldier, who’d take it and press against the keypad. The door buzzed and opened. She waited until the card was returned to her to take a step through the door, doing her best to balance herself on her own now, since she had let go of the other man's arm. - I will be fine, thank you. May I ask for your designation numbers? - both men gulped, their eyes shifted towards one another under their masks. They were sure that they got in big trouble.

\- TK-8923, Ma’am.

\- TK-4958, Ma’am. - her response was to nod and give them a soft smile.

\- Thank you, both, please, keep this confidential. You are dismissed. - the blond kept the professional appearances until the door was fully locked.  Nearly right away, her body went out of balance on the weak feet. She took a step back, balancing herself on the table that was placed at the entrance, her legs shaking violently in pain. Her heart was starting to race again and her chest was getting to that painful moment yet again. The woman needed to make her way across the floor to her door and then to her bed. She took a few deep breaths, then got up to her feet taking a few steps towards the wall and letting her body crash into it as she kept herself up. She took her steps slowly, leaning against the wall, walking past his door and then having a turn until she eventually made it to her door. It buzzed and let the woman in. Lucky, the bed was no more than a couple of steps away and she simply let herself fall upon the sheets. It took her another half hour to get herself undressed and under the sheets. Her eyelids felt too heavy despite the pain in her legs, she just wanted to drift off into deep, peaceful sleep. Her mind quickly slipped away, but instead of peace, she entered a nightmare mix of her past and imagination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blonde was moaning, groaning, her long fingers grasping the silk sheets, an expression, and distress splattered across the soft features of a beautiful face, leaving Armitage Hux’s in the uncertainty of what to do. He simply stood in the door in his “pajamas”: a pair of dark, loose pants. The blond was biting her lip, her eyes were shut tightly, as she groaned loudly again, feeling as if she is dying, her cells crushed together under some weight, splattering her into the surface, squeezing her muscles to bone, crushing every bone. In reality, the only thing atop of her were silk sheets to cover the nude form. As Leillal suddenly threw her head side to side, the man immediately ran up to her, letting his ungloved hand slide along her hand, hoping she’d awake. He was simply unfamiliar with this type of situation. Yet, instead of her eyes opening, her lips parted as she let out a loud scream, the nightmare was taking her to that place, the place where it all destroyed her. The veteran would start to see outlines and blurry images, her body was hurting. The girl in front of Armitage started to shake, shiver, her body was not within her control. His hands hastily grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her awake; nonetheless, he only got the same response. He found this unorthodox, but saw no choice, raising his hand and letting it slap her cheek. The pain spreading around his bare palm as he shakes it off; his eyes finally noticed the dark markings around her neck. She still was in the trance, what shocked him most, she did not even seem to notice that she had been slapped. “Kriff.” - the redhead got on top of her, this time using his arms to hold her to the bed so that Leillal would not hurt herself while her state approached a seizure. While he was not be medically trained, he knew better than to let her just stay there. Armitage had been calling out her name repeatedly, which all seemed in vain. For a bare second, General’s cold, unshaken heart suddenly skipped a beat, it shivered: he can’t lose this woman. He quickly reached over to the nightstand, grabbing her datapad and rashly made a few voice commands so that the signal transmitted directly to the medical ward.

\- This is General Hux, I need immediate professional assistance in my quarters! - he wouldn’t notice it, yet, his voice shook, not the usual cold command tone.

\- We’re on the way, Sir! What is the situation? - it was a female voice of one of the medics who worked night shifts.

\- My wife is… - he looked down at the woman who he was holding down. Her cheeks were glistening with tears as she was still groaning and moaning in pain, making him frown, - I believe she may be having a seizure. - he knew that was not quite what was going on, despite such, he was not about to announce that she was having a psychotic attack in the middle of the night from some type of nightmare.

\- You need to hold her down and put something in her mouth! We're almost there, Sir! - at that point he  pressed on her wrists even more, not caring about bruising her. Her mind wandered , Leillal was flipping through some random pages of her life. There were people surrounding her, there were some voices whose language she can’t seem to recognize, and now they were approaching her. There were distant voices and something in her head told her that they were going to hurt her, yet she can’t run, she was trapped, her heart was racing rapidly against the rib cage.

\- Please, don’t hurt me! - she yelled unexpectedly, resulting in Hux frowning even more when he glanced at her. Was she talking to him? But he couldn’t release her, even as she was kicking and attempting to fight him, he knew that she would more than likely hurt herself.

\- Leillal! Open your eyes! - he yelled again, hoping she would realize it was his voice, but the results were useless, she was screaming now, trying to fight him off in her nightmare. But was it him in her nightmare or someone else who may have hurt her? He had to reach to the datapad again to open the doors while having to use his weight to stop her from escaping as her back would arch and fall down over and over again in her attack.  Just when he was about to lose the grip, doctor, followed by a nurse appear inside the room, panting and assessing the situation. The medics looked at each other, having a rapid discussion of what was the best to administer to the woman when their argument was stopped by another scream of the blond veteran.

\- Hold her arm I am going to administer antipsychotic with a strong dose of sedative . - the head medic was talking to the nurse, who quickly sizes one of the girl’s arms and held it rather tightly: she was used to fighting off stubborn stormtroopers, so a weak woman was not an issue. Hux could only continue to hold the blond down, from the corner of his eyes noticing a needle piercing velvet skin and the liquid inside releases into her bloodstream. Leillal still attempted to fight, but her muscles quickly relax, as she simply fell back to dreamless sleep. The pushing against him stopped and the General gazed down at his unconscious wife: she was so calm now, just dreaming. Hux climbed off the bed, then looked at the two other people in the room, awaiting an explanation of what in the galaxy just went down.

\- Keep this strictly confidential with only my authorization for disclosure. - it was an order now, not a usual kind, his voice was still shaking while he caught his breath.

\- We had to give her sedative, which prevents the seizure and also relaxes the muscles,  mixed together with some antipsychotic, Sir. The antipsychotic should calm her mind, so to say.  - it was the doctor taking, when the nurse remained behind him, trying not to stare too much at Hux. Yes, he was a General who had defined muscles of the abdomen.  He was young enough and attractive, and generally a big discussion among female population of the First Order, - It seems that there is some psychological disturbance that leads to this, as she had not opened her eyes or woken up, is that correct, General?

\- Yes. - Hux’s eyes shift from the doctor to the woman on the bed, who is now sleeping normally, in contrast to her earlier screaming and yelling. The entire situation just appeared to be nothing but a fruit of his imagination. But the two outsiders that were present in the room would say otherwise.

\- I would recommend getting her transferred to the med bay. She requires close observation and care, General. - the doctor clicks a few buttons on the datapad, almost ready to sign off on the transfer of a new patient, his hand is stopped when the General’s loud voice practically barks at him.

\- No! I said to keep this confidential. - he was frowning, causing the doctor to look up and gulp, realizing who he had just angered.

\- Sir… Have you read her medical file? We, um, can't access it. - the doctor speaks again, knowing he should not talk about a patient like that, but he also had full intentions in remaining to do his job and in Hux’s favor.

\- No, and I have no intentions to. - his voice is still irritated, but slowly getting back to normal. What was she hiding?

\- It would be most helpful if... - the nurse grabs doctor's arms and shakes her head. He was new on this ship after the previous one had died when the suicidal rebel decided it was a brilliant idea to hyperjump into the Supremacy, - My apologies, Sir. She will most likely feel tired and mentally slow for next 48 hours. Please, let us know anytime if there is anything we can.. - Hux was fed up. His quiet night of sleep was interrupted by an unexpected and unpleasant event and this man clearly did not know his position.

\- Get out. - He spoke in a low, furious voice, making both medis pretty much ran out of the room and then the apartment.

The general took a deep breath, then circled the bed, walking to the other side and placing himself on the white sofa by her bed. She may be asleep, but he had some work to do and her file can wait. She better explain herself in the morning. He was still working, checking status reports and making sure appropriate orders go out to needed channels, looking at the most important requests for supplies, money, ships, etc. His eyes stopped at her calmed face, she was sleeping soundly, her soft breaths the only real noise in the room. For a second it flashed back to her mouth open with screams and her tearing eyes, making him shake his head. Hux was unsure of what to really make of what he had seen. It would be very inconvenient if it happened every night like this; yet, a part of him was nagging softly in the back of his head with a new feeling or emotion. He was worried for her on a subconscious level and due to that he did not find himself being angry. He doubted that she could control it and what astonished him the most was the fact that she was veteran. Did every single retired officer or stormtrooper felt this way? This much agony, pain and helpless? Hux took a deep breath again and went back to his work, he felt it was inappropriate to make any assumptions or statements before he found full disclosure from her personally. He suddenly remembered her file: it felt inadequate for someone her status and rank. Possibly, closed down information, meaning he would have to use his authority to investigate his wife, but just how much? He knew she suffered a trauma at her last mission, but was it the cause of nightmares? Certainly that was what the doctor implied. His thoughts wandered off the topic of his job to her, which took him a moment to catch before going back to work, as he remained seated in an armchair in her room. A few hours later, as the overhead light in the apartment started to turn up the dimness, letting the light fill the room, pulling her out of the dream. Her eyes opened softly as she’d lift her hands up to her eyes slowly rubbing them. Why did her wrists hurt? Leillal's eyes opened wide looking down at her hands which had some light bruising on them. She frowned to herself but clearly did not remember this happening. She now realized that her vision felt limited like that time she got super drunk with her fellow colleagues, it was much of a tunnel vision. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth and remembered this time: bitter and sour. The medication. Her eyes started to trail around the room as she finally noticed a pale, red-headed man making a hole in her with his eyes. She tried to swallow the taste in her mouth, but instead only choked and started coughing, while he remained unmoved. Once she calmed down, his extremely cold voice, with notes of deep annoyance and exhaustion, stated the following.

\- I believe you owe me an explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * It's a type of metal


	6. Who she really is. Pt 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for posting rather late. I had was very busy for a few days prior to my departure and now I have very limited access to the internet.  
> Also, this chapter really dives into the warnings. You have been advised that the text below will be disturbing and may be damaging.  
> As always, I am so very thankful for all my readers, kudos, and the lovely comments! You guys are really keeping me going!

Kylo was confused while sitting on the side of his bed, holding his head in his arms. His anger was previously taken out on a wall in front of his room, and now, the only thing left for the Supreme Leader was to figure out his own feelings according to that girl. She was about his age, yet compared to him, she was more of an adult. He felt desperate, he was desperate. Leillal angered him because her words were true, making his chest tighten with pain. He was jealous, he did feel betrayed, and he felt the need to have Rey by his side. Her presence by itself balanced him, made him strong enough to kill Snoke and the elite guards, even if he spent a good portion of time glancing at her to make sure she was all right. Her pure strength and talent were undeniable and irresistible. Did that woman also sense those mixed, raw emotions he had toward the scavenger? Wait. Kylo looked up across the room, remembering her words, mumbling them to himself “that passage flows both ways”. His eyes widened slightly, as he got up to his feet completely shocked. How did he not sense that? He thought she was only talking about Rey and him, but she implied something else. That passage only flows between people who have some force sensitivity. Now, Kylo Ren went from being confused to a clear state of mind: he will get out anything and everything out of that woman’s head: she was hiding something and the fact, that she was able to resist him entering her head, only proves it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

\- I believe you owe me an explanation. - his eyes stared at the girl, trying to focus on her. He managed to free up his morning from work and meetings by working through the night, but it only added to his previous tiredness and he was forced to take some Stimpills*. Leillal started to adjust herself to the bed, lifting herself up slowly. Her body felt like a jelly. All the joints seemed to be butter and bones were short of a pudding. This was way too familiar.

\- Ugh.. - her throat still hurt, - I had a meeting with Ren, which did not go well.

\- I could tell. - his response was immediate, as he nodded toward her neck. She figured that this was not the response Armitage wanted,  which meant that she had a bad nightmare, and considering how she felt, it required medication, - I looked into your personal file a bit more on your last mission. Your statement was rather short, and well, lacked detail. - Her eyes slowly trailed toward him as she cleared her throat.

\- That… I don’t remember much. And why would you ask about that? - her interest in asking was the fact that somebody had clearly pointed him that direction.

\- Are you going to disagree that your behavior last night was not in some ways causes by what ended your career? - it was a rhetorical question, leaving the room in long, notorious silence. Blond's eyes traveled back to her feet.

\- How bad was last night? - her voice was shaking, however, based on the bruises on her wrists she had an idea that it was way worse than usual.

\- You left me no choice but to call medics. - his reply was dry again and he was awaiting the explanation. She sighed audibly enough for him to hear and finally started to talk.

\- Events are a blur. I woke up at the hospital on my home planet with my mom by my side. - she recalled that time. The way that she woke up was similar to how she felt now. Only then it was much worse: she could barely move at all.

\- Debrief me on your last mission. That’s an order, Commander. - her head started to pulsate as those words were very familiar with her supervisor who then appeared in her ward. Hux phrased it that way on purpose.

\- Mission number RD012384. Location: Bordal. Objective: to rescue captured child soldiers and eliminate the slave traders - she recited from her memory. She was the main commander of that mission and knew everything by memory, - I was given an order to seek out the location and open communication promising enough currency in exchange for our soldiers. While I was preoccupied with distracting the main control, my subordinates managed to open an attack on their base which resulted in the slavers to retreat into the depths of the forest valley on their ship, leaving the soldiers behind. I was informed by the inhabitants that they are more than likely to die. The bodies of people with Bordal Contagion were dumped there. The diseases were long subdued on most of the planet but that particular region was used as a mass grave. - She paused, taking a few deep breaths, recalling memories which from there on felt rather fuzzy, - As a commander I decided to take a TIE-fighter and fly close to the surface in attempts to find them. Then.. um.. I.. - she coughed again, feeling the pulsating pain in her head get more and more prominent, - I saw an edge of their ship hiding inside a cave. I landed and took a transmitter. I needed to make sure that they were either dead or alive and then send an air attack to ensure the destruction. I put on a supplied air mask to ensure my safety in the region. I had entered their ship as the hangar was open and I had not observed any movement and then… - she suddenly bent down, grabbing her head as the pain was almost impossible to handle, - there was an explosion and… everything was falling.. I… Tried to run, but I was..

\- That’s enough. - The command was loud and stern. Hux got up off the sofa, taking a step toward her and putting a bottle of water in her lap, as the Colonel gradually started to exit that period of her time, last few words were slipping out of her mouth.

\- It was… dark… no air… - she reached out for the bottle, then almost instantly looked up at the man. He was now wearing a loose shirt which revealed a lot of skin, compared to his usual attire: his hands were bare as well as his arms. She noticed that while Hux may not have been jacked up with muscles, it did not prevent him from being masculine and attractive.

\- That’s enough. - he softened his voice slightly while she observed his attire. Yes, this was unusual, but for some reason, he did not mind being that way in front of her. She was his wife, not his subordinate.

\- Sorry, Armitage, - her voice shivered slightly, as she took a few deep breaths while opening the bottle and taking a few sips of water.

\- How long were you preoccupied with your lone mission? - he wanted to confirm something. Her recent recital of the events nearly duplicated what was said in the report.

\- I left in the morning and the explosion happened at sunrise, I would expect no more than a day on Bardal, Sir. - the red-head nodded, clicking a few buttons on his datapad before finally starting to walk toward the door.

\- Droids will be here to assist you, - when the door buzzed open a household and medical droids hurried to enter her quarters while he rashly exited the door. Both felt relieved that they were now separated by the walls and that her covers were thick enough to cover her nude form. Leillal felt strange being covered by only a blanket while he was just a few feet away. Wierd, because generally, she did not care. She was a trained officer of the first order and she was trained not to care. Leillal proceeded to spend most of her day between falling asleep and being awake as a side effect of her experience at night. She did not have many dreams, just random images back from Bardal floating in and out of her mind. The general proceeded to take a nap for exactly 3 and a half hours after which he had another series of meetings. The new location for the Starkiller was determined and now they needed that monetary support from the nobility to begin building. On all his meeting he appeared distant, his head preoccupied with her words. She said that she spent no more than a day in her search, but could he really trust her words? She was in pain when telling it all to him, meaning her memory was blurry and not very reliable.

\- … General. General Hux! - the voice of one of his commanders shook him awake. For a moment, the ginger thought he had spaced out in a middle of a meeting only to realize he was on a small break between the meetings. At least, he kept up the appearances. Once the subordinate had the attention of the general, he stood straight up and announced rather quickly.

\- Sir, the meeting in regards to Starkiller’s stabilizing compartment is waiting for you, General. - he nodded picking up the datapad and his insulated mug filled tarine tea, then proceeding out of the office toward an immense meeting room, knowing well, Kylo Ren was going to be present as well. The whole meeting advanced smoothly outside from the glares the two most dangerous men in the galaxy shared constantly. Hux knew that Ren was the one to cause damage to his wife, who also just happened to be a key component in the recent money flow toward the First Order. Kylo was still irritated by the words of his wife and hoped that at least one of the couple would know how to shut the other. As the members finally came to an agreement on placement and start date, finally deciding it was a good time now to think of other prevalent topics such as finding a planet to call a capital. Starkiller could be a good weapon, but not a political capital. The members of the meeting finally started to shake hands and dissociate, quickly leaving the room from the harsh atmosphere between the General and the Supreme Leader. Hux got up from his chair, starting to casually stroll along the room to the exit, pausing for a quick pause between the door and Kylo.

\- Remember that she is more than my wife. You can’t just kill or torture her. - His words were full of spite. Kylo Ren left marks on her skin and a disturbed night for Hux, which the later found to be unforgivable. Before Ren could even respond, the General disappeared in the hallway. The red-headed man knew he had pissed off the supreme leader for good this time and that there won’t be any meetings anytime soon in that room. The general distantly heard the noises of furniture crashing against the walls. Kylo Ren was stuck between his ambitious General and the politically important wife. Hux’s lips grew in a smirk.

The General proceeded to his office, making a few arrangments on his datapad to not be bothered while he took a needed break and a tactical pause to investigate the questions he had. Ren was too preoccupied with his anger, which hopefully gave Armitage some time before he’d be interested in question Lady Barpent-Hux again.  Once in his chair, He started to open more and more files in regards to the mission rather than her, searching up and looking at different reports. They all seemed to flow alike as if someone told them what to say or report. That was not unusual, yet it was bothering Hux. It all seemed way too fabricated when his eyes fell on the date of one of the reports, making him frown, then go back to all the previous reports. Each one was edited or modified about 7 to 9 days after the official mission was over, which, again, was not unusual; however, it did not happen this late after the mission was over. He continued to look at the ship logs of the mission this time. Those could not be edited or changed. His eyes quickly skimmed the report “ A TIE-fighter number 495733 taken by Commander Leillal Barpent on the 3rd of the 12th month 32 ABY.  ” Followed by some mesh along the lines or arrival and departure of other members then another line. “ A TIE-fighter number 495733 returned by Lieutenant Carllaw Roopar with light damages to the outer part of the cabin on the 13th of the 12th month 32 ABY.” Hux had to pause and read over the dates again. There was an undeniable 10-day difference. He continued to read the log further, this time focusing on the medical database. “Commander Leillal Barpent administered to the medical bay on 13th of 12th month 32 ABY, at 00:12 GST.” Hux pressed his back against the chair, looking down at the datapad. Did she lie or was it her mind that lied to her? He started to feel the tingling in his neck, the irritation and anger rising from within. He thought he would not do this, yet he was already searching for her medical records as a commander of the First Order. The file was sealed the same day she retired: 27th of 12th month 32 ABY, which appeared logical. Once retired, the files kept by the First Order were now those of civilians and violating their privacy could be very problematic. He pressed to see the details of the seal only to find out it was not her who locked the file, rather the name present on the authorization was “Rebeve Barpent” also known as his current mother-in-law. If the General was feeling irritated earlier, he was furious now. The ginger rapidly and harshly pressed against the datapad until a hologram of the above woman finally had appeared in front of him.

\- General Hux, it is a very nice after… - the lady was polite as ever, only making the man sick with her political friendliness.

\- Your daughter, why did you seal and encrypt her records? - he didn't even bother to stumble around, cutting the chase. The woman’s expression on the hologram changed. The smile returned to a serious expression. 

\- Those are private, General. Although, Leillal would be happy to answer… - she was cut off again, which was starting to really piss her off.

\- Yes, screaming in pain from nightmares, and yelling “don’t hurt me” until a sedative antipsychotic was given? I am sure she can explain. - The woman gazed down, wishing she could just end this call. Rebeve gazed down at her hands down, remembering the times when her daughter would be like that, it still killed her every time.

\- What do you want to know? That time _ruined_ who my daughter was. - there was a long silence while Lady Barpent picked up her datapad pressing a few buttons and then finally taking a long sigh. A message appeared on General’s screen as he put it up along with the image of his mother-in-law. - Read it for yourself, General. - it was said with such venom, that her words seemed to be poisonous to the ears, - Don’t question her about it, ever, don’t try to evoke those memories. - before he could reply the image of the woman had disappeared as she had ended the conversation there. Hux had everything that he wanted anyway: her full medical file. There was a date of her birth along with the measurements taken at her birth, followed by what he was not interested in: everything prior to the 13th of the 12th month of 32 ABY. His eyes stopped when he finally got to the date, reading everything rather fast, skimming over the lines only to go back and reread it again and again. His face was turning paler every time he went back to read over it. He gulped, then looked at the wall. Surprisingly, a lot of things made more sense now. He noticed there were some bioreccordeer holograms attached as well, which he hesitated to open. He returned to a few words written about the state that she was found in, then he took a deep long, breath, pressing to open the image. His blue-gray eyes opened wide as he turned away and hurried to close the image right away. It was a mixed feeling of invading her privacy, seeing her like that, and as a General, seeing a soldier like that. If the ways of the First Order were inhuman, what he saw on those pictures was abominable. He had no way to describe it.

The Report:

“Leillal Barpent administered on the 13th of the 12th month of 32 BBY at 00:12 GST.

Initial observation: heavy bruising from repetitive constrict around the wrists, ankles, and neck. Severe bruising around the lower abdomen, from suspected repetitive abuse in a form of punching or hitting. Round burn marks on palms, upper back, shoulders, chest, possible burned tissue on legs. Bruising around the face from suspected repetitive abuse from punching or hitting. Intense cuts on both legs from the rocks, indicated by dust particles. Superficial cuts along the chest, breasts, abdomen, inner thighs, from a ragged knifed.

Doppraymagno combined with Bioscan detected: extended comminuted fractures of fibula and tibula of both left and right legs;  extended comminuted fractures on all phalanges of both feet; heavy bruising of tissue of both tight and legs; extended comminuted fractured of rib 3,6,8,9,10,11, and 12 on both sides; oblique, displaced fracture of  right clavicle.

Rape Kit administered: Results positive; 5 DNA samples identified and confirmed with 5 deceased males found in the sight of the blast. See attached file.

Toximeter Patch Detected: low doses of Hyponoane (tranquilizer), Renatyl (sedative), H4b (addictive sedative); high doses of Pleezer ( a pleasure-causing drug), Skirtopanol (truth serum with side effects of heightened sensitivity)

Electroencephaloscan: The amygdala, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the hippocampus showed signs of unusual behavior associated with PTSD."

The following lines proceeded to contain the dates and the procedures done after the incident, which he understood little of. The report painted quite a picture: drugged, tortured, and raped. Used as an ashtray, tied down, and repeated hit. Even for a man such as Armitage Hux, who had been on both spectrums of the abuser and the abused, he found this way too cruel. He frowned to himself when he finally opened the attached file of the 5 men indicated above. He flipped through them rashly, looking at only one demographic “status” which every single one stated, "deceased on 10th of the 12th month at 32 BBY between 10th and 12th hour GST".Another question: if they died at the same time, yet she was not administered until 13th, at midnight. He frowned, the only clear thing on his mind at that moment was the fact that this entire report was nothing but a mess. Dates do not add up at all and there was nothing to fill in the blanks. They lied, it was fabricated. The man proceeded to sit back in his chair, thinking this over. He could question her again; however, that would reveal that he had breached her privacy, in addition to contacting her mother. Not to mention, he had a nagging feeling it would make what happened during the night even worse and that was not necessary. His other options varied from calling Rebeve to leaving this alone, the later was not an option to him personally. He was absolutely determined to get to the bottom of this. The General was already working on a plan. If he had to, he would find every single person who was there on Bardal and get them in this office for questioning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She opened her eyes from a strange noise, sitting up and rubbing her eyes again. They hurt, which indicated that she ended up crying again. Leillal did not disclose to her husband what had happened during her dream, but it did not mean that it did not bother her. She could not get those images out of her head. There were people looming over her, and she knew they were going to hurt, she also knew that it happened on Bardal, yet at the same time, she was so horrified of what she saw in those dreams. Her thoughts were distracted by the same noise again. The medical droid seemed to be unbothered by it, yet it did not come from him. It was a scratching noise followed by some, vibrating noise, then a high pitch animal noise with strong “e” sounds. Since she was wearing a nightgown now, she quickly threw her blanket over and reached into her nightstand, taking out a small blaster, and pointing it toward the noise: her door. If it were Armitage or a stormtrooper they would knock, leaving possibilities to an intruder trying to pick a lock.

\- Oh, Ma’am, I don’t believe it is safe for you. – if she could, she’d slap the droid.

\- Open my door, now. – her voice was ragged while the droid rolled over to her door and buzzed it open. As the door slid to a side, she was ready to press the trigger and fire at anyone who was there. Instead, there was no one. The scratching and the vibrating had stopped. She frowned and put her blaster back into the drawer, and by the time she looked back at her bed, there was something… orange. The previous First Order Commander yelped, jumping up in the bed, starting the droid, which suddenly rammed into a chair, trying to rush to the patient, and then observing the ginger-colored fuzz ball on her bed. The animal, and it was an animal, gazed back at them with its yellow-green eyes. Later on, the woman would swear that that animal was smirking, satisfied with her appearance. The droid did a few clicks activating a quick scan, then announced.

\- It is a cat, Ma’am. Absolutely harmless, unless you have allergies. – the animal proceeded to seat down on Barpent’s feet and start to lick its fur around the neck.

\- A cat… Huh… No, I am not allergic. Kitty, kitty, kitty.. – she felt somewhat stupid calling a cat like that, but the animal had a collar with a tag on it, which would mean it belonged to someone on the ship. It did not escape one of the labs, did it? She thought to herself while the animal got on all fours, slowly and very gracefully walking across the white sheets and then proceeding to sit on the woman's lap.

\- Hey, I am gonna check your tag, okay? – Leillal reached out her hand, letting the cat sniff at it, then purr, as the animal extended its neck, rubbing against her palm, making the woman frown even more to herself. The feline was way too adorable. The woman reached out slowly with her other hand, letting her fingertips gently glide against the soft fur of the animal. It felt so nice. The tabby cat was nice and warm, and so very calming. The purring just melted her heart and for a moment Leillal considered just throwing away the tag and claiming the ownership. The next second, the blond’s heart would drop all the way down into her legs as her eyes grew in a surprise. “Millicent. Contact General Hux if found.” Hux owned a cat? No, wait... Hux. Owned. A cat. A female cat, to be more specific. She started at the animal in disbelief. The General of the First Order, a man that organized his books by color, size, and author, ready to murder anyone who moves them an eighth of an inch, who barely slept, that man owned a cat. It was his, that was certain. The color of the cat resembled his hair way too much for her to make any other conclusion with the tag. She couldn't help but envision her husband sitting in his office with the cat in his lap while planning the destruction of the New Republic.

\- He appears treats you well. – she mumbled out loud, proceeding to softly rub Millicent behind the ears. The blond noted to herself that the cat had shiny fur and was very well fed. Suddenly, a rather heavy blush of embarrassment came over the veteran. She was going to shoot and she was actually scared of Hux’s cat. “Wow, you’ve outdone yourself.” Considering how attention-seeking the animals was, she thought to herself that he did look after Millicent well, yet since she was in her room it was more than likely an indicator that the cat felt lonely with him constantly gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Meetings, documents, only to have another board of engineers sitting in front of him to argue on what was better to use for this or that. The General usually found himself involved and voicing his opinion, yet today his grey eyes just observed the room with boredom. He could not wait to get out and find out what was going on with that woman. What neither Leillal nor Armitage realized was Kylo Ren currently marching to their quarters to question the woman in not so polite manner when he was going to drag her into one of the torture rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stimpills are used to keep awake.  
> The events are described are taking time 2 years prior to Snoke's Death.


	7. Who she really is. Pt 2.

When the door to her room had opened, Leillal expected a red-headed individual, instead, she got two stormtroopers alongside with the Supreme Leader himself, who stared at her with pure anger. Her heart dropped to her feet, once again. She felt as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over her, while Millicent got up on all fours, arching her back and hissing the three men. Kylo despised the feline and wished it would have disappeared along with the Starkiller base, but just like himself, the cat was saved from the certain death. The feeling was clearly mutual based on animal's reaction.

\- Supreme Leader. – her voice was trembling: what he did with her last time was more than enough, a broken mind can only handle so much.

\- Make yourself decent. – His perfectly calm voice echoed in her ears as she slowly started to move only for him to cross the room in a single step and jerk her up by the shoulder, - Hurry. - He was not about to wait. The cat had jumped down from woman's knees to the floor, then made it up on the couch, now focusing her fight at Kylo Ren.

\- Yes, Supreme Leader, - blonde disregarded the pain from his grasp, attempting to stand up only to crash on the floor the second that Kylo had let go of her arm. Her legs were a mess due to medication and the pain that was spreading quickly to the rest of her body. Leillal sensed the force preventing from hitting her head on the edge of the bed. She knew that force users had faster reactions; however, his reaction time was impeccable, which only made this man more dangerous. The tension was growing. His dark eyes gazed down at her, while his gloved hand reached out to brush away a lock of her hair out of her face. His fingers slid against her cheek, while brown eyes observing her fear of what he may do to her. She could barely breathe, her eyes were the only thing that really moved. The woman appeared, and she was, so helpless in front of him. He terrified her, more than her nightmares only because he was looking to see into those nightmares. If her mind tortured her with the scary dreams, Kylo Ren was the physical representation of those nightmares. She had secrets she needed to hide, one of which he was so interested in and no matter how many wall or barriers she could build, he was stronger than her. Ren sensed that she was connecting with the force, even if ever so slightly she could sense some of it, doing his best to hide his fury for the moment. She was still lying and hiding it while clearly being of his kind. He was planning to do in a polite manner, but he was never good at hiding his emotions. Instead, he uttered a command in a very low voice before getting up and starting to walk away.

\- Bring her to the prepared interrogation room. – she gulped, then took a deep breath, watching the stormtroopers approaching her.

\- Sir, with all due respect, I would not act rashly. – survival of a politician knew too well how to control her tongue, as she spits those words out rapidly, trying to hide her shivering hands.

\- Then, get your cane and walk. - His voice was low and even, he carried that sentence in a monotone. Supreme Leader paused in the doorframe turning slightly to observe as she gave a quick command to the droid, who then turned around to rush in the closet and return with a cane made from some common material, handing it to the woman. The veteran immediately used it to get up to her bare feet. She knew this was going to cause an uproar no matter what she does; however, if she walked, it would not be a complete disaster. The droid also brought out a shawl, which she draped over her shoulders. The blonde made her way across the room, spitting words at Kylo’s face now.

\- I hope you aware what this will come out to be, the Supreme Leader. – this was her last attempt at calming him somewhat only to get a brief reply before the two stormtroopers pressed their blasters to her back, making her walk whether she wanted or not.

\- Of course, Lady Barpent-Hux. – it was a dismissive tone. He knew nothing politics. The cat attempted to follow them but only got the doors shut in its face. She wouldn't dare attack the black-haired man as the feline sensed the fear that he brought upon the other female.

Leillal found it fortunate that they did not run into too many people along the way, but even those individuals glared intensely at the strange parade: Supreme Leader, followed by the wife of the General dressed in a nightgown, barefoot, and then two stormtroopers. If her image was going to hit rock bottom, it had just done so now. They made a series of turns, while she did her best to keep up with him. The only thing the woman could focus on was trying to force any of the horrible thoughts coming to mind. The veteran knew the torture room way too well: she usually was not the one in the chair. Extracting information was a part of her resume. The door buzzed open and a technician looked over them, then replied with “Everything is ready, the Supreme Leader.” Kylo gestured toward the chair with a nod, as she "willingly" took the last few steps, letting her body slowly lay down on the chair. There was not much choice: she could do this on her own, or she would be forced to. The stormtroopers proceeded to bound her down: her ankles, wrists, arms, abdomen, all had lines of metal cuffs running across, making it hard for her to move more than an inch. Kylo glared down with satisfaction. The technician proceeded to draw a needle with a something, as she gulped, her heartbeat starting to increase, while her eyes followed the needle when it pierced her skin, the liquid quickly entering the bloodstream.

\- Which one is it? – she needed to know, for some obnoxious reason, she had to. The tech looked up at the Supreme Leader, either awaiting a permission or his reply.

\- Skirtopanol. – Kylo responded first, his eyes staring directly into woman’s who hurried to close them, escaping the eye contact. She could practically feel how the liquid spread throughout the entire body, floating through her veins, to her fingertips, intensifying pain in her legs. This was way too familiar, yet she was never tortured, _right?_

Ren observed as the technician took out some needles that would be used to physically pry into her head only to be waved off by the Supreme Leader.

\- No need. You are dismissed. – he waved off the stormtroopers and the technician. He planned for this woman all to himself and his method of extracting information.

\- Thank you for not drawing my blood. – she mumbled once they were alone in the small, dark room.

Leillal felt her entire body being bound to the torture chair like she was glued to it, her heart would race faster as this was all too similar, similar to something in particular: those nightmares. Her chest started to rise up and down rapidly, as she breathed faster and faster each second, she was practically choking, trying to move her hands and legs, attempting to break away. Her entire body was being crushed, each cell was violently pressed against each other, each nerve was pinched causing unbearable amount of pain.  
\- Good, stay there. - it was a low voice, his hand over her head, searching her mind, seeking out the information he wanted. She was starting to shiver, her body was reminded of what it felt like to be trapped, her lips were shivering, yet she still had the barriers up which would not let him penetrate her mind completely, her force leaking into his inevitably probing at his mind while he was toying with hers, but it all resulted in the same thing, the time of the incident, why was it so important?  
\- Get.. Out of.. My head! - she screamed, suddenly, trying to fight him back, to push him away, to get him out of her head. It was painful, his probing felt like thousands of needles just pierced her scalp, she started to gasp for air again.  
\- Then tell me, what can you do, who trained you, how did you.. Awaken? - he was calm, still trying to go further than how her body was filling in that moment of her nightmare. Her memory started to float around, she felt the room spinning, her legs.. Her legs were hurting so bad as if something was crushing them, yet there was nothing. _Nothing?_  
\- You.. miss her.. - her voice was becoming quieter as she spoke complete truth, - you feel betrayed… But it was you. Your conflict, yet you let her deal with it…  
\- Oh no, we are focusing on you now! - Kylo was furious, truth always hurt the most, so he’d pick on the mind of the woman even further, letting himself glide deeper and deeper, ignoring the screams and shivers of her body. They were on Bardal while Ren stood behind the shoulder of the blonde woman who looked much different then: strong, masculine, proud. He watched her get down from the TIE-fighter and press the scan on her datapad for any life form when there was darkness. The darkness that led them to a place on a ship where she was bound, yet the darkness continued as she was blindfolded and a gag was pressed between her lips. She tried to fight, kicking and moaning through the improvised gag only to be yelled as one of them stepped on her leg, making her scream out in pain as a distinct sound of breaking bone sounded in the room. It continued on, further and worse. The first one, followed by another man taking her and hurting her. All of them at once and one or two, it continued non stop: with drugs, with tasers, with cigarettes, with their hands, with equipment, with.... And he forced her to witness it, to relive everything. At some moment his eyes opened wide as he pulled away, looking at the blond woman hysterically crying woman in front of him. She still felt trapped, her mind unable to get out of that place, it was happening again. He took her to that place, he made her remember everything. Kylo Ren had witnessed everything, every second of what happened when she got caught by five slave traders; yet it still did not give him answers to his questions.

\- Please… - she gazed at him, her blue eyes glimmering with tears, lips shivering, her entire body was breaking down, while she was begging him, - please… stop. – It was the moment when Kylo realized he had way overdone himself. If at any point in time he felt shame or regret, it was now. What happened to her was inhumane, and what he just did now was even worse: he made her remember.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of those who had witnessed the march of the Supreme Leader and the Lady just happened to be an officer. He knew the direction which they were heading, and while he also knew that it was none of his business, he recognized the woman from the time when they studied together. She changed a lot and before this second, the lieutenant never made the connection between Hux’s wife and his peer. The lieutenant turned around 90 degrees and hurried down a different hallway: he could not stop the Supreme Leader, no one really could, but just maybe the General could do something. He started to run, causing glares by his coworkers, but his only goal remained to get to the General, who was now in a meeting. He finally ran across the room where a couple of stormtroopers were guarding the door.

\- Is the General, there? – he mushed his words together.

\- Why do you care? – stormtroopers were taught to protect their highest in command.

\- It’s about his wife, she may be in danger. – Lieutenant felt stupid saying that, he really had no idea what was about to happen only going based on his gut feeling.

\- The meeting is in progress and you have no business here. – the other stormtrooper stepped in.

\- Please! Just let him know! – he raised his voice, hoping that the commotion outside would cause the meeting to pause.

\- I said leave! – the second stormtrooper pointed his blaster at lieutenant's chest when the doors got opened by a female officer, who quickly stepped through, angrily glaring at the people around her.

\- Are you insane? – it was a rather loud whisper, similar to a hissing, - the meeting is in progress and you are yelling.

\- Ma’am, please, if General Hux is there, let him know that Kylo Ren had his wife escorted, please, Ma’am. – the woman frowned then gazed at the lieutenant. It sounded too much like a planned attack, rather than an actual truth, - you can check the cameras. He escorted her down K94 hallway towards the torture rooms. – The woman went pale, and the two stormtroopers gazed at one another. This did not sound too good. The lieutenant pulled out his datapad and gave it to the female officer. A few clicks to confirm he was telling the truth as she nearly dropped the datapad and rashed back through the doors, across the meeting room toward the General, causing a commotion when the speaker at that time had to stop. General glared at the woman with such anger, that she knew she’d at least get demoted. She leaned in and whispered rather quickly into his air “Sir, Your wife has been escorted toward the torture chambers by Kylo Ren.” Hux jumped to his feet then waved her dismissed. He gazed down at his datapad, but could not think straight.

\- The meeting is dismissed, - after this he hurried to leave the room, even leaving behind his favorite tea and rashing down the halls in a fast walk. He wouldn’t dare to break our running while so many eyes kept on him. The redhead made his way in the hallways with the highest accuracy to get there as fast as possible until he finally arrived at the door guarded by two stormtroopers. He buzzed the door open without any resistance. The soldiers were trained and conditioned to be loyal to their General.

Abruptly, the door had buzzed with Hux storming in and brushing Ren aside, rather quickly undoing the binds and letting the weak body simply crash onto his arms, helpless, still shivering, still crying.  
\- You are out of your mind, Ren. - with that, General rather quickly picked the woman up. Whatever Kylo Ren had seen shook him enough to remain silent, still in confusion, he started at the General for a moment. – I will have her full file for you, Supreme Leader if you want such. – Hux was mocking the Supreme Leader, his words full of spite and anger. If anyone of them knew what torturing a high noble would result in, Hux figured out. Another part of him was angered because this woman belonged to him, and not to anybody else. Both men knew what happened now before the explosion. Only the woman knew what happened after.

\- That won’t be necessary, General. – Ren leaned against the wall, while Armitage hurried to get out of the damn room with his wife in his arms. This was humiliating to both of them, but when he felt her fingers clenching to his uniform, he refused to let go. It would be way too cruel to give her up to anyone else now. The two stormtroopers with which the General had arrived, followed them as well. If this was not the most confusing event of the year to the staff and the soldiers, then what was? The General knew he’d have to deal with the flashback from this later, but that was later. Right now, he found it necessary to focus on his wife, whose’s face was buried into his uniform. He never walked so fast to their quarters and never been so happy to be inside them, quickly making a right turn and sitting her down on one of the barstools. He kept looking at Leillal with a calm and stern expression while her fists were hitting his chest as she was crying. Her hits did not hurt him physically. What did Ren find in that head of hers? Did he show her what happened on Bardal? Or did he discover what happened in those 36 hours after the explosion?

\- Don’t touch me! – she yelled, while Hux’s hands were resting on either side. He could call the medics again, but as soon as he thought of that, the image of her naked body with all the pain inflicted on it got into his mind. He will never forget it. The blond’s eyes were open as she sobbed, tears running down her cheeks, her nose was starting to get stuffy: even the royal blood cries ugly. She could not leave that place that Ren showed her, images overflowing her conscious mind as she trembled at what she could remember. How they did, how they took turns, in rounds, over and over again, lighting up cigarettes or cigars and using her as an ashtray. How their hands touched her… She wailed in mental and physical pain when the General finally had enough. He could not bear to watch her like this another second. His hands clasped around her wrists, pulling them out of the way, while he leaned in, letting his lips wrap around hers, rashly kissing the salty lips, mashing her lips over and over. There was no response at first. Her eyes opened wide as she silently stared at him, making eye contact as his eyes remained open. He did not stop or pull away, she responded this time. Her arms relaxed and stopped trying to push him away or break free to hit him again. He froze for a second when he felt her lips ever so lightly and gently kiss him back, as her eyes closed. Her mind was completely blank. Someone just splashed white paint over all those memories that she had earlier. She only knew that his lips felt right, this was appropriate, so she just let her arms just hang down, her eyelids closing and letting herself melt into the kiss. She felt safe at that moment, just letting herself go at her own pace, making him slow down. The redhead let go of her arms, which immediately just hanged to her sides. He moved his gloved fingers to around her jaws, holding her head somewhat, while his thumbs rubbed against her cheeks. He suddenly had an urge to take the damn gloves off, especially when he realised her hands had laid around his back now. He wanted to feel her bare skin, he wanted the raw and absolutely pure contact. Leather was in the way. They continued the gentle and slow kiss for a while, speeding and slowing down, until what seemed a breaking point for Hux. He obeyed the contract and had not slept with any woman, so when her body pressed against his, with her soft breasts rubbing against his chest, which he could feel through all the layers of fabrics that separated their skin. He had to let go, separating them almost immediately. There was a very long pause, silence, as she opened her eyes looking at him with a question. Why did he stop? It made her feel so good… She dared not to gaze down, only thinking about his face at the moment. The man, however, did feel his something pressing against the tight fabric of his pants. Her lips were red, glistering from all the kissing, slightly separated. The eyebrows were pulled together and up, making her look as if she was begging him. His fingers let go off her chin, he cleared his throat, slowly taking a step back, when he felt the tag on the fabric of his shirt. He gazed at her fingers grasping the edge of fabric, then up at her.

\- Armitage… Don’t go. Please. – she looked so pathetic, begging him to stay. Not in a bad way, the exact opposite as he could hear the need pulsating in his head. That’s exactly how he liked it. She was _begging_.

\- Do you know what this entails? – he stopped his voice soft, slow, that of a hunter. Like a wolf that just cornered its prey, he was toying with her and at the same time, making sure that he would not do anything without her consent. That was important. His question caused a long silence, as her eyes trailed down for a moment, catching the drift of his question a lot better now. Leillal gulped softly, her mouth felt dry. He was about to tell her good night, finding the silence to be his answer, when he heard the barely audible reply.

-  Yes. - This surprised them both. Her answer did not completely involve from desperation. There was something else.. She now knew she wanted this.

\- You are so naïve. – he let a soft smirk climb up his lips. He took a step forward, in the process taking off his gloves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have not been so good at updating things: I am pretty busy, but I am doing my best.  
> I know this chapter has been another depressing/difficult one, but better things are coming~
> 
> Also, pretty please, recommend some eroticy songs x-x


	8. ~Just Some Images I have made~

 

I do not own the orinal works. All credit goes to respective authors.  
I am just the person who did the editing.  
Next chapter coming soon!


End file.
